UAE petrol prices for October are set to be announced, following three consecutive months of increases.
Elsewhere in the country, Mahzooz, the weekly prize draw contest, announced a new prize structure. It will offer new ways for lucky customers to pick up prizes.
Dubai hit the headlines this week when a massive fire spread through a residential building in Sports City.
A new real estate developer entered the Dubai market with a $100m investment
Across the region, Qatar has announced $19bn of spending on government procurement, Kuwait has unveiled the latest phase of its 2040 masterplan and Saudi Arabia shared details of mass arrests in residency and labour operations.
It has been a busy week in the Middle East, catch up on some of the biggest stories in the news this week, as selected by Arabian Business editors.
UAE petrol prices to change for October 2023
The UAE is set to announce the new petrol prices for the month of October at the weekend.
Petrol and diesel prices across the country went up in September for the third consecutive month.
Prices have fluctuated in the past 12 months, but are broadly similar to this time last year, with only diesel being noticeably cheaper.
Massive Dubai fire breaks out in Sports City residential area
The residential building was on fire for almost “two hours,” claimed a resident of the building as per a Reddit post, adding that the flames spread to all 21 floors. The Al Barsha Fire Station was dispatched immediately to the location and arrived within 6 minutes.
Additional support was requested from the Dubai Investments Fire Station and the Jebel Ali Fire Centre. By 5.23am, the situation was under control, as per the latest communication from the field commander. The fire was successfully extinguished by 6.38am, and no reported injuries were reported.
Mahzooz announces new prize system for bigger weekly payouts
After 146 weekly live draws and more than AED457m awarded to more than 250,000 global winners, Mahzooz is gearing up for a shift.
The enhanced payout system introduces five prize categories in the grand draw and guarantees three prizes in the raffle draw.
Qatar plans $19bn of projects in 2024 as it prepares major tender process
Qatar plans QR70bn ($19.2bn) of projects in 2024, a forum on government procurement plans has heard.
The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) and the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) will implement the projects next year.
Two presentations by Ashghal and Kahramaa during the first two days of the forum showed that the value of 116 public tenders that Ashghal will launch for 2024 amounts to around QR59bn ($16.2bn).
Saudia announces Jeddah to Toronto flights
Saudi Arabia Airlines (Saudia) will start operating flights to Toronto, Canada.
The upcoming flights are introduced in collaboration with the Air Connectivity Program (ACP).
Flights to Toronto Pearson International Airport will commence on Saturday, December 2 from King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
Dubai real estate: New developer enters market with $100m investment
The group plans to play high on the sustainability factor, with an in-house R&D team working on new energy-efficient and waste management technologies to be implemented in the city for the first time, including harnessing solar power using special materials on the glass façade of building structures.
“Yes, there are already many players in Dubai – and the UAE – real estate sector, but there will always be space for more players considering the influx of people to the city, and the country, year after year, propelling demand for more and more residential spaces,” Ramjee Iyer, Chairman and Managing Director of ACUBE, told Arabian Business.
Kuwait announces 2040 masterplan
The Fourth Kuwait Master Plan 2040, was approved by the cabinet in its weekly meeting and identifies development goals for the coming years, said a government minister.
Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and Minister of State for Communication Affairs Fahad Al-Shuala revealed that the masterplan would focus on the use of land for private housing, investments as well as commercial and industrial purposes.
Saudi Arabia arrests over 15,000 in residency and labour operations
The announcement was made by the Ministry of Interior in a social media post identifying 15,114 arrests between September 14 and September 20.
The Ministry said the arrests were made by multiple security agencies in the Kingdom during the past week.
UAE court grants $1m compensation to energy drink brand Power Horse
The compensation is intended to redress the damage inflicted upon Power Horse’s reputation and brand in a significant contractual dispute with Anorka Food Industries LLC, a fully owned subsidiary of Al Hamei Group, one of the Middle East’s largest importers of coffee beans from Brazil.
This legal battle came from a Moral Damages Claim initiated by Power Horse, following a partnership agreement with Anorka to launch and market a coffee-based energy drink.
Dubai flying taxis to slash DXB Airport to Palm Jumeirah journey time to 6 minutes
Dubai will have high-speed flying taxis in the city by 2026, according to an air mobility expert.
When introduced, flying taxis are projected to slash travel time from Dubai International Airport to Palm Jumeirah from 46 minutes to a mere 6 minutes.
The comments came during a session titled “The Future of Air Mobility” as part of the activities of the third edition of the Dubai Congress for Self-Driving Transport.
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