Abu Dhabi economy set to expand by 3.9%

ABU DHABI: The economy of oil-rich Abu Dhabi is expected to expand by 3.9 percent in 2012, the emirate's Department of Economic Development said yesterday, revising an earlier forecast for five percent growth.
The department announced the figure in its "Economic Horizons of Abu Dhabi 2012-2016" which also foresaw an increased pace of growth of 5.7 percent annually between 2013 and 2016.
It also forecast growth of 5.5 percent this year in the non-oil sector of the emirate which sits on almost all the oil wealth of the United Arab Emirates.
"Nonoil sectors will drive the growth in the future," said the department's undersecretary, Mohammad Abdullah.
Abdullah had said last year that the economy of Abu Dhabi was expected to grow by 4.5 percent in 2011 and five percent in 2012.