Once said by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – ‘if the vision is clear then the objectives can be easily achieved’. This quote indeed stands tall in the context of Dubai. The vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to turn Dubai into the world’s best city has led to the accomplishments of huge objectives like – building the first 7 Star hotel – Burj Al Arab, the first man-made Island – Palm Jumeirah, the world’s tallest tower – Burj Khalifa, and the first futuristic museum in the world – ‘The Museum of the Future’. 

Another such vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed which is going to transform Dubai forever is – ‘The Dubai Economic Agenda’ or ‘D33’.

On January 04, 2023, The Dubai Economic Agenda ‘D33’ was launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on the occasion of his 17th Accession Day anniversary. D33 is set to propel the long-term growth of all businesses across all sectors and will turn Dubai into the world’s leading destination for global investors and businesses. 

Dubai Economic Agenda or ‘D33’

Dubai Economic Agenda or ‘D33’ is a one-of-its-kind project which focuses heavily on partnerships, investment, technology and digitization, and people empowerment to turn Dubai into a global financial hub. D33 aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy over the next ten years (i.e. between 2023-2033) and consolidate its position among the top three global cities.

Key Objectives

D33 strives to revolutionize every sector in the next decade. It aims to increase Dubai’s foreign trade, Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs), government spending, private sector investments, the value of domestic demand for goods & services, and an annual contribution from digital transformation projects. D33 aims to build Dubai as a digital hub and aims to generate an annual contribution of AED 100 billion from digital transformation projects to Dubai’s economy.

Over the next 10 years (2023-33) Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) aims to Increase Foreign trade from AED 14.2 trillion in the past decade to AED 25.6 trillion for goods and services in the next decade,  Increase FDI from an average of AED 32 billion annually to an average of AED 60 billion annually to reach a total of AED 650 billion by 2033 and increase Government expenditures from AED 512 billion to AED 700 billion. D33 also aims to increase the Private sector investments from AED 790 billion in the past decade to AED 1 trillion in the next decade, and the Value of domestic demand for goods and services from AED 2.2 trillion to AED 3 trillion in the next decade.

D33: Roadmap

The key factor in the success story of Dubai as a leading global destination for businesses and investors is its impeccable ability to design infrastructure and industry development projects to accelerate the pace of its economic growth several-folds. D33 is one of those projects. It will turbocharge Dubai’s holistic development and will empower the emirate in emerging as a global financial hub. D33 includes 100 transformational projects which encompass every major sector. 

The first package of transformational projects for the next decade focussed on doubling the size of Dubai’s foreign trade and adding 400 cities to Dubai’s foreign trade map. It also aims to launch Dubai’s plan for green and sustainable manufacturing. 

To boost industrial development and the job market, D33 has plans to launch a scale-up programme for 30 companies to become global unicorns in new economic sectors and integrate 65,000 young Emiratis into the job market. It also emphasizes on launching the Dubai Traders project to empower the new generation of traders in key sectors.  To accelerate the pace of technological innovation, D33 will focus on launching ‘Sandbox Dubai’ to allow the testing and commercialization of new technologies and make Dubai a major innovation hub.  D33 also emphasizes on developing an SME scale-up programme by identifying 400 high-potential companies and supporting their capacity building to enable them to grow globally.

What does D33 Mean for the Real Estate Sector?

Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) will prove to be a boon for the real estate sector and accelerate its performance several-folds in the next 10 years. Under the plan, the Dubai government plans to invest significantly to develop economic infrastructure to drive trade and investments. This will create more demand for real estate. 

Since the announcement of D33, the real estate sales transactions recorded over a 128.5% YoY increase in January 2023. The latest data shared by the Property Finder, on Dubai’s real estate sector has revealed that in January 2023, the real estate sales transactions crossed 9,800 compared to 5,739 in January 2022. The value of transactions witnessed an outstanding increase, recording over Dhs28bn, an increase beyond 178% compared to the same month last year.

Here are the top ways D33 will positively impact the real estate sector

1. Increased Demand for Office Space

D33 aims to invest significantly in Dubai’s infrastructure which will attract several new corporations from across the globe to start their operations in Dubai. This will create more demand for industrial and office space which is good news for the commercial real estate sector. 

2. Surge in the Demand for Premium Properties

D33 emphasizes attracting foreign investments in the field of technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation. This will lead to an influx of High-net worth Individuals (HNWIs) moving to Dubai for business. According to the Henley Private Wealth Migration Dashboard, the UAE was at the top of the world in attracting High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in 2022. The increase in the migration of millionaires and billionaires to Dubai will create more demand for premium properties like – villas or luxury apartments which will drive the sales of premium properties.  

3. More Innovative Projects

 D33’s agenda lays special emphasis on investing in innovative technologies. This will lead to the development of revolutionary and state-of-the-art real estate projects in the coming years such as: smart homes, green buildings, and sustainable communities which will make the real estate sector more attractive for both local and global investors. Innovative projects will also have a profound impact on the resident experience and their quality of life which will lead to higher satisfaction rates and occupancy and more revenues for the property management firms.

4. Foster Competition

More focus on developing innovative real estate will promote competition amongst real estate developers to come up with more unique projects which will make the sector more competitive than ever.   

 D33 agenda will also lead to the development of more mixed residential and commercial projects which most closely matches the requirements of the buyers. D33 also emphasizes on Small and Medium Enterprises scale-up programme by identifying 400 high-potential companies, supporting their capacity building, and supporting them to grow globally. This will create more demand for small yet modern office spaces to attract companies and individuals looking for new opportunities in Dubai based on the (D33) vision. More demand for office space will have a consequential impact on the revenues and business expansion of real estate developers.