The emirate of Abu Dhabi will receive investments of over $100 billion over the next five years for projects including a new airport, a seaport, townships and tourism facilities, a senior government official has said.

The investments cover diverse fields including energy, heavy industries, logistics and tourism facilities, said Sheikh Hamad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economy and Planning, while addressing the Italy-Abu Dhabi Investment and Business Forum.
Meanwhile, according to one real estate businessman, Ahmad Ali Al Sayegh, chairman of Aldar Properties, about 100 new hotels will be built over the next 10 years in Abu Dhabi at the rate of 10 a year.
 Sheikh Hamad said the planned large-scale projects included a new airport to handle up to 20 million passengers a year, a world-scale port in Taweela and the building of new communities at Reem Island, Lulu Island, Saadiyat Island and Raha Beach. The island developments will have commercial and recreational facilities, hotels and tourist attractions, and apartment and office buildings, in addition to civil infrastructure.
“Moreover, in the next five years, Abu Dhabi has envisioned to make major investments in its energy and industrial sectors,” said Sheikh Hamad. “These include increasing crude production from 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) to 3.5 million bpd, the development of refineries, gas processing plants, petrochemical complexes and large-scale heavy industries.”
He emphasised that Abu Dhabi was seeking to develop new manufacturing, tourism, logistics and service industries in joint ventures with leading global companies.
About UAE-Italy trade, Sheikh Hamad said: “We have recently concluded an agreement to avoid double taxation as well as pacts for the protection of investment and air transportation, which has laid the foundation for growth in trade and investment.
 “Our strategic intent is to build in partnership with the private sector, a new economy that is open, diversified, innovative, export-oriented, and capital and knowledge-intensive. We are actively working on developing an investor-friendly environment by changing investment legislation and streamlining licensing processes.”
Recent developments involving Abu Dhabi-Italy ties include Mubadala Development’s recent purchase of a 5 per cent equity stake in Ferrari and a 35 per cent stake in Piaggio Aero, the award of a $600 million EPC contract to Danielli for the construction of one of the largest integrated steel complexes in the region and the award of a nearly $1.5 billion contract to Snamprogetti for the implementation of a gas processing plant for Adnoc. Otther major Italian companies including Tecnimont, Fisia Italimpianti and Belleli Energy have all been successful at building several projects in Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Hamad noted that Abu Dhabi was at the threshold of a major economic transformation. “Our strategic intent is to build in partnership with the private sector a new economy that is open, diversified, innovative, export-oriented and capital- and knowledge-intensive,” he said.  “We are actively working on developing an investor-friendly environment by changing investment legislation and streamlining licensing processes.” He said Abu Dhabi intended to exploit its strategic position to transform itself into a major logistics hub which could become Italy’s gateway into the GCC and the wider Arab market, Central Asia and Africa.
“We hope that an increasing number of Italian entrepreneurs will become our partners in our endeavour to transform Abu Dhabi into a new major economic power in the region,” said Sheikh Hamad.
The Italian delegation represented a cross-section of industries including energy, engineering, pharmaceutical, building materials, infrastructure, logistics, iron and steel, automotive, heavy engineering and aerospace and furniture.
Key officials from 10 Italian banks and trade bodies were also part of the delegation.