LAST-MILE DELIVERY-

Meituan UAS enrolls in UAE Ministry of Economy’s NextGen FDI program:China-based drone food delivery outfit Meituan UAS will join the UAE’s NextGen FDI initiative, which helps develop and scale up tech companies with incentives, Wam reported. Under the program, the company will study the possibility of introducing its food delivery drones, operating systems, and drone hubs to the UAE market. Meituan UAS has been operational in three Chinese cities as of 2021, Wam said.

The move is in line with the UAE’s ambition to become an autonomous delivery hub: The nation already offers licenses for commercial Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drones and is setting up wider infrastructure for broad ranging commercial applications of drones, Wam said. Last week also saw Abu Dhabi kick off its new smart and autonomous vehicle industries (SAVI) cluster at Masdar City, a move that is slated to prop up the emirate as a SAVI hub with applications for air, land, and sea mobility.

INFRASTRUCTURE-

Iraq is set to construct a 3 GW power plant and a 1 mn cubic meter per day water desalination plant in the Southern Al Faw Peninsula, Zawya reports, citing an Iraqi official. The plants will provide water and power to the Al Faw, Basra governorate, and other areas in southern Iraq, Basra’s Governor Asaad Idani said. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, Idani added.

CUSTOMS-

Customs agents in Dubai will carry out remote inspections:Dubai Customs and Dubai South have unveiled their remote inspection project, which aims to expedite business operations and reduce customs inspections time through the use of advanced technology and AI, at GITEX Global 2023 last week, according to a press release. The project will utilize AI, and a specialized robotic system leveraging thermal and infrared cameras and a long lasting lithium battery to carry out inspections within company warehouses, under Dubai Customs’ remote operation’s center supervision, according to the release. The initiative targets clients and clearance agents that are part of the authorized economic operator program, with the project slated to be rolled out to logistics companies operating in Dubai South initially, before expanding to business across Dubai, according to the release.

Abu Dhabi Customs + MBZUA ink MoU to boost AI projects: Abu Dhabi Customs has signed an MoU with Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) on advancing AI projects through research and development at GITEX Technology Week 2023, Emirati News Agency Wam reports. “Areas of cooperation between the two parties include implementing innovative AI-based projects for Abu Dhabi Customs, collaborating on research projects and developing new technologies in customs fields, developing customs specializations in AI, in addition to providing training and educational programmes, organizing joint events, workshops and initiatives,” Executive Director Support Services Sector Fahad Gharib Al Shamsi said.

ENERGY-

Qatar to supply Shell with gas:Qatar Energy and Shell have inked two long-term liquified natural gas (LNG) sale and purchase agreements (SPA) for the supply of up to 3.5 mn tons per year of LNG to the Netherlands for 27 years, according to a press release. The LNG will begin to be delivered at the port of Roterdam’s Gate LNG terminal starting 2026, with the LNG volumes sourced from Qatar’s North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS).

More Qatari gas for Europe? Qatar Energy also inked two LNG SPA’s earlier this week with TotalEnergies to supply France with gas — under the same terms as the Shell agreement, according to a separate press release. The top LNG exporter aims to help Europe replace Russian supplies of LNG after the EU imposed sanctions on Russian energy imports, Reuters reports. The EU received some 40% of its gas from Russia prior to the Ukraine war, the outlet writes.

Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) has inked a framework agreement with China Energy Company for the production of green fuel, according to a statement. The agreement, made on the sidelines of China’s Belt and Road Forum, aims to set up a USD 6.75 bn green hydrogen plant spanning 500k square meters in Sokhna Industrial Zone for the production of 1.2 mn tons of green ammonia and 210k tons of green hydron annually, according to the statement.

Green is the new black when it comes to energy: The agreement is one of several on green fuel production inked by the SCZone with Chinese companies at the forum in Beijing worth a combined USD 14.75 bn. China Energy signed an MoU with Egypt back in December to carry out a feasibility study for the plant.

ALSO WORTH KNOWING-

  • Suez Canal Economic Zone boss Walid Gamal El Din discussed cooperation opportunities with Chinese logistics, EV, and fiber optics companies during his visit to China.(Statement)
  • The UAE’s low-cost carrier AirArabia is set to operate five flights a week between Sharjah International Airport and Egypt’s Sphinx International Airport starting 6 December 2023. (Press Release)
  • Aramex and Saudi shipping gateway Alodhave partnered to help SMEs in Saudi Arabia gain access to a larger pool of customers by automating import, export, and shipping processes in Saudi Arabia. (Statement)
  • Qatar Freezone Authority (QFZ) Chairman Ahmad Al Sayed held discussions with chair and founder of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab about incentives offered by the QFZ as well as potential collaboration in areas of mutual interest. (Statement)
  • Low cost carrier Jet2 will operate 17 new weekly flights to Morocco’s Marrakech and Agadir from the UK airports of Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Manchester, and London Stansted. (Statement)
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