Giving up control

Abu Dhabi is set to publish an urban planning strategy that sets out a vision for the emirate's expansion for the next 25 years.

A three-year streamlining of Abu Dhabi government services has led to a reduction of white-collar public sector workers from 65,000 to 18,000, according to Khaldon Khalifa Al Mubarak, head of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

The reduction of headcount comes as a result of a dramatic shift in strategy that will see the private sector employed to deliver a raft of government services including fire fighting and training the police.

The new Abu Dhabi government has blown away the grinding command economy that was stifling private investment and welcomed in an era that will see entrepreneurial spirit replace state control.

Of course the roadmap for this transition was drawn in Dubai. But unlike Dubai, where the private sector - particularly in construction - has run riot, Abu Dhabi is planning to show more constraint.

The government is set to publish an urban planning strategy that sets out a vision for the emirate's expansion for the next 25 years.

This level of detailed thinking and planning is to be welcomed. Abu Dhabi could double in size over the next five to 10 years with far reaching consequences for power and water consumption, the transport infrastructure and crucial services such as healthcare, law enforcement and education.

Abu Dhabi is wise to signal that it will move with a little more caution than Dubai. The private sector will be given unprecedented opportunities to cash in on the development of the emirate, but checks and balances will be in place to ensure that quality of life for all citizens is always improving.

It has also given itself thinking time. Applications for private sector ventures are sure to be considered carefully and weighed against their impact to the vision for the city as a whole. In this way, each private project should have a positive impact across the capital.

One key test for the new strategy will be to ensure free and fair competition for government contracts and private sector initiatives. A vast proportion of Abu Dhabi's private wealth is in the hands of the ruling elite and it is mathematical certainty that this money will fund a considerable proportion of the private sector initiatives.

But there must also be opportunities for free and fair competition from entrepreneurs and multinationals whether they hail from the UAE, the wider Middle East, Asia, Europe or the United States.

Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks with major trading blocks around the world that are conditional on the UAE providing open access to the market, and it is important that these talks are concluded and the terms of the FTAs enforced.

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