News

A multi-billion dollar development called ‘Sharjah Waterfront City’ on Sharjah’s northeast coast is expected to be announced at the region’s premier real estate event, Cityscape Global, next month. According to a report by Sharjah-based Al Khaleej newspaper, the emirate’s largest master-planned mixed-use development project to-date will cover an area of 60 million square feet along 36 kilometers of waterfront. The ...

Passenger traffic at Sharjah International Airport grew by 6 percent in July, compared with July 2014, while regular passenger numbers continued to grow throughout the first half of 2015*. Last month 837,316 passengers embarked, disembarked or transferred via the airport, compared with 793,260 last year, continuing the year’s strong growth in passenger traffic. Figures for the first half of 2015 ...

Sharjah will stake its claim to the halal travel and tourism market at this year’s World Halal Travel Summit & Exhibition, which takes place in Abu Dhabi from 19-21 October. The world’s halal travel and tourism market is currently estimated to be worth US$135 billion (AED 496b) and is forecast to grow to US$200 billion (AED 735b) by 2020. Sharjah ...

Action Hotels Company has announced it has opened the first Premier Inn hotel in Sharjah, via its partnership with Premier Inn, the United Kingdom’s biggest hotel brand. Premier Inn, which focuses on affordable hotel accommodation, has nearly 700 hotels in the UK and is rated the UK’s Best Value Hotel Chain by YouGov. The new Sharjah property is one of ...

Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) plans to invest AED 5 billion (US$ 1.4b) in tourism development projects by the year 2018, in Sharjah city, Sharjah’s east coast and in island resorts. HE Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of Shurooq, recently revealed the authority’s multi-billion investment plans in an interview with UAE newspaper Al Ittihad. Shurooq was established by ...

The International Monetory Fund (IMF) has estimated the United Arab Emirates’ average economic growth at 3.6 percent for 2014, and forecasts 3.2 percent in 2015. Despite lower oil prices, sluggish global growth, and volatility regional markets, the UAE remains one of the fastest growing economies in the world with strong non-oil economy growth of 4.8 percent (2014). According to the ...

Global business aviation services company Gama Aviation plc has announced that it has cut basic handling rates for its fixed base operation (FBO) at Sharjah International Airport by 20 percent following a global review of its operations. The reduction in handling rates ensures that the company’s Sharjah hub is highly competitive when compared to similar offerings in Dubai and other ...

Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), the Sharjah government authority responsible for positioning the Emirate as a tourism and investment hub, today reconfirmed its commitment to employing the highest sustainability and energy reduction standards in all of its current and future projects. Shurooq has been at the forefront of energy preservation since it was established in 2009, having switched all ...

Bank of Sharjah P.J.S.C. (BOS:ADX) has announced a 16 percent increase in net profit during the first six months of 2015, with net profit reaching AED 176 million (US$ 48m) compared with AED 152 million (US$ 41m) during the same period last year. Strong growth in loans and advances contributed to growth, while boosting bank liquidity and capital. Loans and ...

Sharjah hotels and resorts registered one million guests during the first half of 2015, according to the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), consistent with last year’s statistics. Last year saw approximately two million tourists visit Sharjah throughout the year and the emirate aims to attract 10 million tourist per year by 2021. Sharjah offers more than 100 hotels and ...