UAE - Fujairah.

Long one of the poor backwaters of the UAE, Fujairah now is a key part of global oil trade. It aims to overtake Singapore as the world's largest bunkering centre. It is selling 16-18m t/y of bunkers, compared to 10m tons in 1994.

Thousands of vessels pass through Fujairah's waters each year, at a rate of more than 50 per day. This is largely due to its strategic location on the Gulf of Oman, close to major crude oil export terminals in the region, and the fact that ships can anchor in deep water unlike the case in the Gulf.

Fujairah is the biggest regional centre for tankers shuttling through the Gulf to transport crude oils to countries across the globe. The oil storage venture of Van Ommeren Tank Terminal Fujairah became operational in January 1999. It has major storage, blending and terminal facilities for oil products (see next week's DT & Oil Market Trends No. 21).

The emirate also has the second largest container terminal in the UAE. The number of containers passing through have risen from 475,000 in 1991 to more than 820,000.

Tourism is a focus for development. Even Ajman is having a fun city and other tourist facilities built at a cost of Dh2 bn ($545m). This figure is about the size of Ajman's GDP in 1995. Its Crown Prince Shaikh Ammar Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi has been behind the project, which will include a hotel, apartments, a fun city, parks, and shops. It is being financed jointly by the government and the private sector. Ajman, which has no oil, is one of the smallest members of the UAE, with a population of around 50,000.