United Arab Emirates (UAE) economics minister Sheikha Lubna al-Qasimi has stated that steel production in the UAE will double to 10 million mt per year by 2010 as the country, which is currently the second largest Arab economy after Saudi Arabia, lessens its dependence on oil.
Minister Sheikha Lubna added that the real estate and construction sector in the UAE, which is the fifth largest oil exporter in the world, will make a contribution of 23 percent to the economy within two years, up from its previous level of 16 percent in 2006.
There is $1 trillion-worth of infrastructure projects currently being carried out in the region, thus leading to robust demand from the construction sector for steel.