Last week Fujairah was making international headlines for its connection with Cyclone Gonu. This week the Fujairah city and emirate is making the headlines for all the right reasons.Fujairah is getting runs on the board in the sphere of sport as it gets ready to host a national 20/20 cricket tournament, which is one of the developmental steps towards having a successful UAE cricket team.
Volunteerism by hundreds of people from the UAE’s Takatof organization to help with the Cyclone Gonu clean up is a significant service and another positive spin off from the disaster.
Fujairah is making financial headlines with the decision of Dubai’s biggest investment company to launch a branch in the eastern city starting with a capital of $136 mill. This is a further example of the UAE’s policy of regionalization.
A dormant oil refinery in Fujairah has been purchased and will be used to increase the oil refinery and bunkering capacity in the east.
Fujairah’s power and desalination plant is being extended significantly in a new $2.5 bill venture.
Bigs moves are being made in the environmental sphere in Fujairah with the 129 square kilometer Wadi Wurayah being declared an important conservation area that is home to several species of animal and plant life unique to the United Arab Emirates. This area also hosts some of the UAE’s key archaeological sites.
Sport, volunteerism, finance, oil industry, power plants, water desalination, the environment and archaeology are some of the important areas where Fujairah is not only bouncing back from Cyclone Gonu but flowering in a variety of ways.
Geoff Pound
Image: Wadi and mountains near the Dubai entry to Fujairah.
