Yas Island first phase to be ready by October

The global financial crisis will not have negative effects on the execution of first phase of Dh147 billion Abu Dhabi-based Yas Island project, Aldar Properties said.

"Some 60 per cent of the project's first phase is complete and the whole phase will finish in October. The number of labourers on the island rose from 22,000 before a few months to 37,000 currently, and the number is expected to rise to 40,000 after two months," Steve Worrell, Manager of Yas Island Development, said.

He said during a journalists' tour of the island to take stock of the project's implementation that Dh24 billion had been spent on the project since its start in 2007 until now and the total investments in the first phase is estimated at Dh40bn.

There are no plans to lay off the workers, because the project is executed according to a timetable and needs a lot of labourers who are specialised in this field.

Therefore, the number of labourers has been increased to speed up the completion of the project.

He said the company attempts to take advantage of the global financial crisis by reducing the value of new contracts in the project, while it is committed to the old contracts signed before the last developments.

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