Qatar Daily News

Car sales fell in Kuwait in 2009 to 119,133 units, from 122,623 in 2008. The impact of the international economic crisis was felt in the Gulf state’s economy; plunging oil prices in the latter half of 2008 and early 2009 had a serious effect on the country’s income, while tightening credit also curtailed economic growth.
The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) estimates that the country slid into recession, in 2009, with us estimating a 2.4% contraction.

Kuwait has so far invested $1.5 billion in Turkey, according to the Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah’s official consultant in Turkey.

The Kuwaiti emir is planning to implement three or four giant projects worth $3 billion in Turkey, said Uğur Akkuş, the group leader of the Sems Turk Kuwait-Turkey investment consultancy company.

“A big portion of the $3 billion investment, which will be implemented in Turkey via Sems Turk, a Kuwait-Turkey investment consultancy company, will be in real estate. We are planning to focus on Istanbul,” Akkuş said. “The company is also interested in Turkey’s hydroelectric power plants as well as its agriculture sector.”

“Everything in the Gulf region relies on imports. Turkey has the potential to become the food storage of the Gulf region in the coming years,” said Akkuş. “Our company is also interested in the Southeastern Anatolia Project [GAP].”
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Dubai government-owned airline Emirates said on Tuesday it planned to recruit 2,000 cabin crew in 2010 as it expands its fleet and routes.

The Arab world’s largest airline has hired around 660 cabin crew and more than 60 pilots since March 2009, a statement said. The airline’s total cabin crew stands at 11,000.
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The world’s biggest privately owned boat has arrived at the Dubai International Boat Show.

The ‘Dubai’, which is 531 feet (162 metres) and reaches speeds of up to 26 knots moored up within the Dubai International Boat Show and will stay there until March 13.

Dubai World Trade Centre CEO Helal Saeed Almarri said it was an honour and a privilege to have the boat at the show.

“We are looking forward to an outstanding five days of great business opportunities and providing luxurious entertainment as consumer confidence gains momentum,” Almarri added.
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Dubai Aquarium, one of the emirate’s flagship tourist attractions, reopened on Saturday following a two-day closure after it sprung a leak and flooded Dubai Mall, UAE daily Gulf News reported on Sunday.

Chaos broke out Dubai Mall on Thursday when water began pouring out of one of the panel joints of the main tank, which holds some 10 million litres of water, forcing the evacuation and closure of part of the shopping centre.

On Saturday, however, the only evidence of the drama that unfolded was a lower water level in the main tank, the newspaper said, adding that both the aquarium’s main viewing panel and the walkthrough tunnel were once again open to the public.
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The first hanging bridge in Oman, Khor Al Bath, connecting mainland Sur and the village of Aijah, has been completed. A project of the ministry of regional municipalities and water resources and executed by Strabag Oman, the bridge spans 204m with the biggest span measuring 140m. Construction of the bridge started in February 2008. The RO6m project will also reduce the distance between Al Aijah and Khor Bath villages in Sur by 10km.

Abu Dhabi and ConocoPhillips plan to award Dh36.8 billion ($10.02 billion) of contracts in the first half of 2010 to develop their Shah gas project, Emirati newspaper al-Ittihad reported on Monday.

State-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) said in February it expected to see first production from the joint-venture by late 2013 or early 2014. It is the first project the UAE has undertaken to exploit a sour gas field.
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The Greek government has agreed to establish a bilateral working group between Athens and Abu Dhabi, the Greek Ministry of Economy, Competitiveness and Shipping announced on Sunday.

The first meeting of the group will take place in Athens in the following weeks. The two sides will explore the possibilities of economic cooperation and the possible involvement of Abu Dhabi in the Greek Development Fund, as well as the European Investment Bank and other international financial institutions.
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Oman has opened its first terminal for cruise passengers at Port Sultan Qaboos. It is hoped the new building, which boasts a reception check-in, information centre, cafeteria, internet café, and restroom facilities, will boost the sultanate’s reputation as a stop-over point for cruise ships

Petrochemical Industries Co., a unit of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp., plans to build a third olefins plant that may cost as much as $5 billion, the company’s deputy managing director of olefins said.

Petrochemical Industries expects to complete plans for the plant this year, Yousef al Ateeqi told reporters in Kuwait City today. The facility may have a production capacity of more than 1 million metric tons a year of ethylene and should be operational in 2015, he said.