Abu Dhabi eyes AED 235B investments in 4 economic clusters by 2045

Abu Dhabi city

Abu Dhabi aims to attract AED 235 billion in investment across four specialized economic clusters by 2045, create 130,000 skilled jobs and contribute more than AED 284 billion to the emirate’s GDP, said Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED).

Speaking to Aletihad newspaper, Al Mazrouei said the four clusters comprise Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industries (SAVI), AgriFood Growth and Water Abundance (AGWA), Health, Endurance, Longevity and Medicine (HELM), and FinTech, Insurance, Digital and Alternative Assets (FIDA).

On the business environment, Al Mazrouei said the number of new economic licences issued in Abu Dhabi rose 21% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.

He added that ADGM recorded a 54% increase in assets under management in H1 2026. Its workforce reached about 49,030, while the number of active licences rose to nearly 14,000.

Abu Dhabi’s real GDP continued to grow for more than 18 consecutive quarters, with non-oil sectors accounting for more than half of the emirate’s GDP, he said.

Abu Dhabi ranked sixth globally for government efficiency and seventh for economic performance in the International Institute for Management Development’s (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking 2025.

On tourism and hospitality, Al Mazrouei said Abu Dhabi welcomed 26.6 million visitors in 2025. Its meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector attracted about 2.2 million participants that year, up 40%.