CHAPTER 7 | Transport, Storage, Communications and Information Technology Sheikh Zayed road in Dubai downtown. 117 Dubai Economic Report 2018 Dubai_DED DubaiDED Dubai DED his chapter highlights the importance of these sectors as drivers of economic growth, foreign investment, a well-managed infrastructure to effectively support trans- port of goods in and around the country, and a world class T road system and modern public transportation system by metro, bus, taxi, waterbuses and ferries, and mass transit. The UAE ranks first globally in terms of government procurement of high technology products and innovation capacity. The ICT sector is attractive to foreign direct investment (FDI) which has doubled over the last decade (2007- 2016), reaching USD$6,017 million in 2016. ↗ Dubai and the UAE rank first globally for the quality of transport infrastructure, outperforming most countries of the world, including many in the developed world. ↗ The transport and storage sector is the second largest contributor to Dubai’s GDP, contributing 11.8 per cent in 2017. ↗ The emirate’s road network is recognized as the best globally in terms of safety and efficiency. ↗ Dubai is home to two of the world’s best airports in terms of effi- ciency and quality of service. ↗ The Al Maktoum International Airport project is part of Dubai World Central, one of Dubai’s largest air transport projects, and includes the construction of the world’s first fully integrated airport city. ↗ According to the Global Competitiveness Report (2017–2018) issued by the World Economic Forum, the UAE ranks first globally in terms of government procurement of high technology products. dubaided.gov.ae Dubai Economic Report 2018 118 CHAPTER 7 | Transport, Storage, Communications and Information Technology Economic Growth Promoted by World Class Infrastructure Dubai’s investment in transportation, storage, and ICT has created a fertile and profitable environment for foreign investment, international trade, and tourism. 1 World Class Transport and Storage Sector The UAE has a world class transport and storage sector that is poised to only improve over time. st for road quality 1 in the world According to the th for the highest quality of port infrastructure World Economic Forum, 4 st the UAE ranks: in the world (1 in GCC) rd for the highest quality of air transport infrastructure 3 st in the world (1 in GCC) 2 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Total FDI in the transport and storage sector has almost doubled from 2007-2018 to US $5,214 million 3 Government Procurement Total FDI in ICT The UAE is #1 in government sector has doubled procurement of high technology from 2007-2016 to products. US $6,017 million FDI for Transport FDI for ICT: st & Storage: GLOBALLY 1in government US$6,017 procurement of US$5,214 MILLION high technology MILLION products globally US$2,863 US$2,555 MILLION MILLION 2007 2016 2007 2016 119 Dubai Economic Report 2018 Dubai_DED DubaiDED Dubai DED Transport, Storage, Communications and Information Technology | CHAPTER 7 Overview The Transport and Storage sector in Dubai has a Given the pivotal importance of the transport sector, special importance beyond its position as one of the the Government of Dubai is continuously developing main economic sectors in the emirate in terms of its plans and strategies to improve it, not only by making contribution to GDP. This stems from its interrelation- financial allocations to support investment in its expan- ships with other economic sectors, especially trade sion, but also by enhancing and improving the quality and tourism. The quality of the emirate’s transport of various transport services. Dubai and the UAE rank infrastructure is a determinant of Dubai’s international first globally in terms of the quality of transport infra- competitiveness and of foreign investment inflows. The structure, outperforming most countries of the world, transport and logistics infrastructure is closely linked including many of those in the developed world. to both domestic trade and foreign trade. The ability of the country to offer its products and services with The Government of Dubai has also established appro- the required speed, efficiency and reliability is one of priate institutional, organizational and administrative the fundamental determinants of its competitiveness frameworks given the importance of transport and in international trade. Throughout human history, the communications in the economy. The responsibilities most developed and economically prosperous coun- for managing and supervising the sector are distribut- tries are the ones which are easily accessible and well ed between the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) connected to their trading partners. In addition finan- and the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority. While the former cial activity in modern economies, particularly in the is responsible for the regulation and management of service industries, increasingly depends on the effi- land, sea and rail (Dubai Metro) means of transport, the ciency of the information and communications (ICT latter is responsible for managing and regulating air sector and its ability to deliver voice and digital data. transport and shipping. The supervision of ICT service This is bolstered by rising consumer demand for infor- providers (Etisalat and du) is the responsibility of the mation and entertainment services as living standards Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. rise. Although smaller than the transport sector Dubai is widely regarded as having one of the most competitive telecommunications industries in the MENA region. Dubai and the UAE rank first globally for the quality of transport infrastructure, outperforming most countries of the world, including many in the developed world. dubaided.gov.ae Dubai Economic Report 2018 120 CHAPTER 7 | Transport, Storage, Communications and Information Technology Contribution of the Transport and Communication sectors to Dubai’s GDP 7.1 The transport and communications sectors This growth was reflected in changes in contribution grew at differing rates in 2017. While the of the two sectors to the total GDP of the emirate. The output of the transport and storage sector share of the transport and storage sector increased grew by 4.5 per cent in constant prices on the previous slightly from about 11.6 per cent of GDP in 2016 to year, the ICT sector grew by about 2 per cent in the 11.8 per cent in 2017, making it the second largest same year. (Figure 7.1) contributor to Dubai’s GDP. The contribution of the ICT sector was stable at about 4 per cent in both 2016 and 2017. (Figure 7.2) 121 Dubai Economic Report 2018 DubaiDED DubaiDED Dubai DED Transport, Storage, Communications and Information Technology | CHAPTER 7 Figure 7.1: Growth Rates of Transport , Storage and Communications 14.6 15 13.0 11.4 9.3 10 5.15.2 4.6 4.7 4.5 5 4.0 4.1 3.7 3.6 3.6 2.9 2.8 2.5 2.8 1.9 2.1 0.7 0.6 0.1 0 -1.8 -5 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 GDP Growth Rate % Transportation & Storage Communication Source: Dubai Statistics Center Figure 7.2: The Shares of Transport, Logistics, Information, and Telecommunications Sectors in Dubai’s GDP 15 11.7 11.8 11.4 11.6 11.3 11.2 11.1 10.6 10 4.1 4.1 5 4.0 3.8 4.0 3.6 3.5 3.7 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Transportation & Storage Communication Source: Dubai Statistics Center dubaided.gov.ae Dubai Economic Report 2018 122 CHAPTER 7 | Transport, Storage, Communications and Information Technology The Transport and Storage sector 7.2 In light of the attention paid to infrastructure as shown by the liner shipping connectivity index, quality by the UAE in general and Dubai in where the UAE ranked first among GCC countries particular, it is no surprise that the United in the last three years. (Figure 7.3) Arab Emirates topped some major infrastructure quality indicators, as shown in the World Economic In the quality of air transport infrastructure indica- 1 Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2018 . tor, the United Arab Emirates ranked in third place globally and first among GCC countries, reflecting The United Arab Emirates ranked first in the world in the high quality of transport and storage infrastruc- the road quality index. The next highest ranked Arab ture in the country. (Table 7.1) country in this category was Oman (14), followed by Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (17, 25, 34 The latest available data on the overall performance and 63 respectively). In the port infrastructure qual- of the World Bank’s logistics performance index are ity index, the United Arab Emirates ranked fourth consistent with previous data; not only does the UAE globally and first among the GCC countries. The outperform the GCC, but its score is higher than the UAE has a strong link with most of the world’s ports, average of EU countries. (Figure 7.4) Figure 7.3: Link of UAE and the GCC ports with most of the world’s ports (Maximum value in 2004 = 100) 70.4 70.6 66.5 64.8 61.3 61.8 49.9 48.4 47.4 27.0 26.7 26.5 8.2 8.9 8.9 5.2 5.2 3.9 KSA UAE Bahrain Kuwait Qatar Oman Source: World Bank: World Development Indicators, 2018(https://datacatalog.worldbank. 2014 2015 2016 org/dataset/world-development-indicators). 1 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2017-2018/05FullReport/TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2017%E2%80%932018.pdf 123 Dubai Economic Report 2018 DubaiDED DubaiDED Dubai DED Transport, Storage, Communications and Information Technology | CHAPTER 7 Table 7.1: The Quality of Infrastructure in the UAE and the GCC Countries Quality of roads Quality of port infrastructure Quality of air transport infrastructure Rank Value Rank Value Rank Value UAE 1 6.4 4 6.2 3 6.6 Oman 14 5.5 48 4.6 56 4.7 Qatar 17 5.5 12 5.6 6 6.3 Bahrain 25 5.1 30 5.1 49 4.9 KSA 34 4.8 42 4.7 46 4.9 Kuwait 63 4.1 78 3.8 117 3.2 Source: World Economic Forum: Global Competitiveness Report 2018.