| Dubai, prospering from near-record oil | | | | as a holding company with six operating |
| prices, plans to invest $20 billion to create | | | | subsidiaries. |
| a company that will lease planes, develop | | | | |
| airports and make aircraft parts to tap into | | | | Dubai Aerospace Enterprise will be chaired by |
| growing demand for air travel in the Middle | | | | Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum, chairman |
| East and Asia. The family ruled emirate, | | | | of the Emirates airline group and president |
| which owns the largest Arab airline, may buy | | | | of the Dubai department of civil aviation. |
| as many as 50 wide-body aircraft from Boeing | | | | |
| and Airbus in the next four years, said | | | | Dubai's ambitious foray into the aerospace |
| Rashid Al-Malik, project director for the | | | | industry will build on the presence the |
| planned company, which will be called Dubai | | | | emirate has already established in the |
| Aerospace. "It's not surprising Dubai is | | | | aviation sector through the development of |
| moving into these activities because the | | | | Dubai international airport and the rapid |
| whole focus of the aerospace industry has | | | | expansion of Emirates into one of the world's |
| shifted eastward in recent years," said Doug | | | | leading long-haul airlines. |
| McVitie, managing director of Arran | | | | |
| Aerospace, a forecasting company in France. | | | | The business concept here is to create a new |
| | | | hub for aviation, from the leasing and |
| Mr. Al-Malik said Middle Eastern governments | | | | maintenance of planes to training personnel |
| including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar had | | | | at a new university to operating other |
| ordered as many as 300 aircraft for delivery | | | | airports and even manufacturing aircraft. It |
| in the next five years and Dubai Aerospace | | | | clearly makes excellent business sense to |
| would order its first this year. | | | | lever off Emirates position as a major buyer |
| | | | of aircraft to promote the Dubai Aerospace |
| The Dubai Government at the weekend announced | | | | Enterprise to the aircraft manufacturers like |
| the formation of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise | | | | Boeing and Airbus. |