Group items tagged

Dubai Cable Co. (Ducab), the joint Dubai and Abu Dhabi state owned wire and cable producer, is optimistic about short to long term wire and cable demand prospects. This is primarily due to heavy investment in infrastructure by Gulf governments, including plans to build a six-nation power grid. The company also sources its optimism from predictions of a wire and cable supply deficit in India.

Ducab-HV, a joint venture between the Dubai and Abu Dhabi governments, has opened a new factory in Jabel Ali, Dubai for the production of single core copper/aluminium conductor power cables with a voltage range of 66kV to 400kV. The plant will increase Ducab's production capacity by 15,000 tonnes of conductor per annum. The company estimates that production will meet the full infrastructural development demands of the UAE. In addition, production is expected to be sufficient to allocate 75% of total output for supplying the GCC, European and African export markets.

Amid the global economic crisis, one sector that has not contracted but has actually expanded is the utilities infrastructure in the Middle East. The government of Dubai announced in January that it will spend AED 37.7 billion (US$10.3 billion) as part of its 2009 budget. A considerable part will be spent on infrastructure projects and power networks will be a significant portion of this plan. According to data provided by Dow Wire and Cable, the regional demand for medium and high voltage cables amounts to 270,000 km and this is expected to rise in the next 2-3 years. While there is still growing demand for medium and high voltage cables, there is currently shrinking demand for smaller products such as building wire.

"Copper is losing about 2 percent a year of demand to less costly materials such as aluminum, or about 500,000 tons, London-based researcher CRU estimates. Aluminum is a third the cost of copper and supplies of aluminum in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange are almost 12 times higher."

As designed, the cities will have a total of four times the geographic area of Hong Kong, three times the population of Dubai, and - so the Saudis claim - an economic output equal to Singapore's. The coastal King Abdullah Economy City is designed to house two million in an area twice the size of Hong Kong. Entirely funded by domestic and foreign private investors, this is the only one of the four planned cities that is currently under construction. Aside from the seaport and residential area, KAC will also house a sprawling industrial zone, a central business district, a sea resort, and a multi-university education campus.

Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) announced that they will set up a joint venture to produce high voltage cables. The plant will be located in Jebel Ali and will be operational next year. Annual output will be 30,000 tonnes of high voltage cable, supplying the local market and GCC countries. The investment will amount to Dh500 million (US$136 million) and is expected to break even in the third year of the project.

It now lies vacant - they were evicted to make way for a new development, but when the recession kicked in those plans were put on hold.