DUBAI: The central bank of the United Arab Emirates, home to the skyscraper-studded city of Dubai, on Sunday announced a $27 billion stimulus package to deal with the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The money will go toward supporting the country’s banks, and regulatory limits on loans will be eased.
Nations across the Middle East have pledged to stimulate their economies as they weather the global pandemic, which has led to widespread school closures, the cancelation of sporting and other events, as well as sweeping lockdowns in some hard-hit areas.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
Most people suffer only mild to moderate symptoms and recover in a matter of weeks. But the virus is highly contagious and can be spread by individuals with no visible symptoms.
The virus has spread to more than 100 countries and infected more than 150,000 people worldwide and killed more than 5,700. Iran is home to the biggest outbreak in the Middle East, with nearly 13,000 cases and more than 600 deaths.
More than 70,000 people worldwide have recovered after being infected.
Countries across the Middle East have imposed sweeping travel restrictions, canceled public events and in some cases called on non-essential businesses to close for the coming weeks.
Dubai Parks & Resorts announced it would be closed through the end of the month.
Abu Dhabi shut down its amusement parks and museums through the end of the month, including Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Kuwait meanwhile shut down malls, salons and barbershops to slow the spread of the virus. Authorities allowed coffee shops to remain open, but said no more than five customers can wait in line at a time and must be a meter apart from each other.
Saudi Arabia separately announced its own $13 billion stimulus plan.
UAE pledges $27bn in stimulus as Middle East works to slow coronavirus
https://arab.news/68tyk
UAE pledges $27bn in stimulus as Middle East works to slow coronavirus
- The money will go toward supporting the country’s banks and regulatory limits on loans will be eased
- Abu Dhabi shut down its amusement parks and museums through the end of the month, including Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Algeria inaugurates strategic railway to giant Sahara mine
- The mine is expected to produce 4 million tons per year during the initial phase, with production projected to triple to 12 million tons per year by 2030
- The project is financed by the Algerian state and partly built by a Chinese consortium
ALGEIRS: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Sunday inaugurated a nearly 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) desert railway to transport iron ore from a giant mine, a project he called one of the biggest in the country’s history.
The line will bring iron ore from the Gara Djebilet deposit in the south to the city of Bechar located 950 kilometers north, to be taken to a steel production plant near Oran further north.
The project is financed by the Algerian state and partly built by a Chinese consortium.
During the inauguration, Tebboune described it as “one of the largest strategic projects in the history of independent Algeria.”
This project aims to increase Algeria’s iron ore extraction capacity, as the country aspires to become one of Africa’s leading steel producers.
The iron ore deposit is also seen as a key driver of Algeria’s economic diversification as it seeks to reduce its reliance on hydrocarbons, according to experts.
President Tebboune attended an inauguration ceremony in Bechar, welcoming the first passenger train from Tindouf in southern Algeria and sending toward the north a first charge of iron ore, according to footage broadcast on national television.
The mine is expected to produce 4 million tons per year during the initial phase, with production projected to triple to 12 million tons per year by 2030, according to estimates by the state-owned Feraal Group, which manages the site.
It is then expected to reach 50 million tons per year in the long term, it said.
The start of operations at the mine will allow Algeria to drastically reduce its iron ore imports and save $1.2 billion per year, according to Algerian media.
