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next five years and where will new
opportunities arise from?
We anticipate that the leisure boating
sector will continue to expand
over the next five years with a sea
of opportunities within the industry.
The UAE has a rich maritime heritage
similar to neighbouring countries; it
is the second largest boat market in
the GCC behind Kuwait, with 20 marinas
and more than 10,000 leisure
boats between Dubai and Abu Dhabi
and by 2030, the maritime tourism
sector is expected to become one of
the leading revenue contributors to
Dubai’s overall economy.
What challenges lie ahead that the
DMCA must overcome to ensure
continued progression of the maritime
industry?
In this era of digital technology,
there is a need to strengthen our
information technology (IT) infrastructure
to fully harness the power
of new innovations for the benefit of
the local maritime sector. We need
to fully automate so that we do not
resort to manual processes anymore.
Meeting human capital requirements
is another major challenge for us.
Specialized skills and knowledge are
necessary to support a thriving maritime
sector and ensure an effective
and efficient industry.
One of the key challenges include
positioning Dubai as a leading global
maritime hub, falling in line with
the maritime sector strategy. The
strategy has successfully accomplished
major developments, including
the creation of an integrated
logistics program, the upgrading of
infrastructure and improvement in
maritime operations through various
initiatives, which has positively
enhanced the confidence of regional
and international investors.
The Dubai maritime sector’s competitiveness,
particularly its strong
capabilities in marine ports and services,
operation, maintenance of giant
maritime vessels has placed the
emirate among the world's most
important maritime hubs in the
world—being at par with key hubs
like Singapore, London, Oslo, Shanghai,
Hamburg and Hong Kong.
The DMCA’s range of initiatives,
including the Dubai Maritime Virtual
Cluster, Innovation Quay, Maritime
Dubai and Maritime Advisory Council,
have significantly contributed towards
the efforts to build a safe and
sustainable maritime sector.
What new marinas and berthing
facilities are being developed?
There are a number of upcoming
mixed-use marina projects currently
in development, which will increase
the total number of berths across
the UAE and reinforce the country's
position as a leading maritime destination.
In the run-up to Expo 2020,
we will strengthen the capabilities of
Jebel Ali Port since the demand for
breakbulk and special project cargo
is expected to rise sharply. Our goal
is to ensure that Jebel Ali Port can
fulfil its role as the premier gateway
for Expo-bound cargo. The breakbulk
sector remains a source of opportunities
for the region with Jebel
Ali acting as the Ro-Ro hub close to
some of the world's largest emerging
markets.
The UAE's developers have been
unwavering in their support of our
short and long-term ambitions. With
their backing, Dubai has strengthened
its position as a maritime destination,
ranking 10th globally, and
placing fifth in terms of attractiveness
and competitiveness.
tant than the development of ‘individual’
technologies, will be the ability
to exploit innovative combinations of
technology to drive new business
models and applications; and combine
new technology with effective
ways of working.
The launch of the updated version of “Sea Dubai”
is part of our commitment to keep abreast of and
lead rapid developments within the global maritime
sector and establish Dubai's leadership as a global
cluster to maritime leisure in all its aspects
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