The emirate plans $16.3bn in expenditure this year, prioritizing social and infrastructure spending.
UAE’s budget includes AED59.9 billion in expenditures for 2022, and the new budget will aid Dubai’s macroeconomic recovery efforts.
Dubai’s deputy ruler said in a tweet that ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum approved the AED181 billion ($49bn) budget for fiscal years 2022-2024.
Dubai’s new budget aims to boost the macro-economy, according to the tweet, with a spending amount of AED 59.95 bn for 2022.
This year, 42 percent of government expenditures were set aside for infrastructure and transportation and 30 percent for social development. Taxes are expected to generate 57 percent of revenue, while value-added and customs taxes will account for 20 percent.
In 2022, revenues are projected to reach AED57.5bn, and by 2023, revenues are expected to reach AED59bn, with expenditures at just over AED60bn. By 2024, expenditure and revenue are expected to equalize at AED61bn. Despite the economic fallout caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the budget was passed.
The tweet said Dubai’s budget for 2022-2024 supports its Strategic Plan 2030 goals and enhances public-private partnerships.
Last March, Dubai’s Strategic Plan 2030, which extends the Dubai Plan 2021, was approved. It aims to “create the framework for new projects and initiatives that will consolidate the emirate’s sustainable development and global leadership”, a statement at the time said.
To diversify the economy of the emirate, Dubai passed the budget and has increased its tourism offerings to attract visitors. Expo 2020 Dubai is currently taking place in the emirate, a six-month mega-event that is expected to draw millions of visitors.
Bloomberg reported that business conditions in Dubai improved the most in two years in October as a result of a rebound in new orders and increased tourism as Expo 2020 got underway.
In the first 11 months of 2021, the Dubai Land Department reported a surge of 88.37 percent in property sales in Dubai following the pandemic. This was the best year in terms of total sales since 2014, with 55,640 deals worth Dh135.4 billion from January to November 2021, according to data.
Tourism is rebounding, too, as the emirate received 4.88 million visitors from January to October 2021. In October alone, Dubai’s tourism industry attracted more than a million international visitors.
According to the latest statistics released by the Dubai government’s media office, the hotels in the emirate sold 9.4 million rooms in the first 10 months of 2020, growing by 34 percent over the same period in 2019, driven by an increase in domestic and international visits.
A Department of Economy and Tourism report shows that the number of business licenses issued by the emirate jumped by 69 percent to 55,194 in the first 10 months of 2021.
Similarly, the number of e-commerce licenses – allowing businesses to do business online and through social networking accounts – grew by 63 percent in the first half of last year, to 3,243 from 1,989 a year earlier.