Launching the electronic “Industrial Census” project at the state level

263 new factories will start production in 2022

Al-Suwaidi and my family during the launch of the project.

Photography: Najeeb Mohamed

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, Omar Al-Suwaidi, revealed that 263 new factories opened their doors last year, and actually started production, after being registered with the ministry.

This came in a press conference organized by the Ministry yesterday to launch the electronic "Industrial Census" project in cooperation with the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics, local economic departments, members of the "Industry Development Council" and local statistical centers.

 Al-Suwaidi stressed that the Ministry of Industry is keen to grant incentives to small and medium industrial projects through the value-added and “Make in the Emirates” programs, especially with regard to obtaining customs exemptions on machinery, equipment and raw materials, and linking the needs of large companies and the production of small and medium enterprises with the aim of Replacing imports with the production of local factories.

new opportunities

Al-Suwaidi indicated that the census project will contribute to identifying new investment opportunities in the industrial sector and strengthening the local product and local supply chains.

He added that the ministry is working to facilitate doing business, reduce its cost continuously, and increase industrial investments. It is also working to find rents at low prices for industrial establishments and reduce the energy prices they obtain, which helps industrial establishments grow their business and face many challenges.

competitive

Al Suwaidi stated that the UAE ranked 30th in the world in industrial competitiveness, while it aims to rank 25th in the world in 2031 thanks to the support provided by the state to the industrial sector and the regulations and specifications issued by the Ministry, which increase the competitiveness of local products.

He pointed out that the UAE ranked first regionally and 11th globally in the quality index issued by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Detailed data

For her part, Hanan Mansour Ahli, Director of the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics, said that the industrial census will provide detailed data on all industrial companies in the Emirates and in the free zones in terms of data related to industrial licenses, volume of productivity, produced goods and financial policies for those companies, in addition to the expenses and fees incurred by them. Companies and data on spending on research and development and others.

Ahli added that the importance of the industrial census lies in providing accurate and up-to-date data on the reality of industrial establishments in the country, which contributes to enhancing decision-making and launching initiatives and projects with the aim of empowering the industrial sector and raising its contribution to the country’s non-oil GDP, which amounted to about 11% during The first nine months of 2022.

Careers

Ahli indicated that the industrial sector provides many jobs for citizens and residents, as the percentage of workers in industry-related sectors reached 28.3% of the total number of workers in the country, according to the data of the Labor Force Survey 2021 conducted by the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics.

Central database

The Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of the Industry Development Council, Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al-Jaber, said, “The (industrial census) project represents an important step to establish a central database at the federal level for the industrial sector in the country, as this project supports the national industrial security strategy and the state’s directions in accreditation.” Focusing on national products and promoting local content, as well as learning about the details of the national industrial sector in terms of number, activities, products and production capacity, in a way that stimulates the growth of local supply chains.

He pointed out that “accurate and immediate data plays an important role in increasing the country’s competitiveness in global indicators, and the collection of standardized data for companies operating in the industrial sector reflects positively on efforts to transform into a knowledge economy, promote innovation, research and development, future growth opportunities, and supports the circular economy strategy.” And the integration of producers and manufacturers into the ecosystem of the national economy.

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