Abu Dhabi launches its first statistics centre

Abu Dhabi said yesterday it had launched the long-awaited statistics centre that was created under a Presidential decree last year as part of an ambitious five-year economic development plan.

The Department of Planning and Economy (DPE) said the centre would be autonomous and would be the emirate's only official source of statistics.

"Butti Ahmed bin Butti Al-Qubaisi has been appointed as Director-General of the centre with the rank of an under-secretary," DPE said.

It said the centre, the emirate's first, would provide accurate data on the social, economic and environmental sectors as well as other fields with the aim of facilitating access to authentic information by policy makers, media, researchers and the international community.

"The centre will also prepare statistics plans to support and serve socio-economic development programmes in the emirate and gather and disseminate data on various sectors, including the economy, society, environment, demography, education and other fields."

The centre is part of a five-year development plan launched by DPE last year.


Key points

The other key points of the five-year development plan include:

- Formation of an economic forecasting unit

- Establishment of the Abu Dhabi Business Centre as the sole licensing authority for projects 

- Creation of a government statistics department

- Launching promotion campaigns for foreign capital including the setting up of "invest in Abu Dhabi" website

- Intensifying measures to protect investors and consumers

- Setting a timetable and deadline to achieve the strategy's goals

- Handling complaints by traders

- Adopting international licensing procedures

- Expanding facilities and incentives for all investors and businessmen

- Promoting Abu Dhabi for international investors at the geographic and sector levels

- Monitoring prices to ensure feasibility of projects for investors

- Preparing an annual report on Abu Dhabi economic and social development

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