Strategic Position
Manufacturing and industry represent the structural backbone of the UAE’s diversification agenda. While tourism, financial services, and real estate attract more international attention, the industrial sector is where the federation is building the productive capacity required to sustain long-term economic growth independent of hydrocarbon price cycles. The sector contributes approximately 9 percent of GDP and employs a substantial workforce across aluminium smelting, steel production, aerospace component manufacturing, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, food processing, and building materials.
The UAE’s industrial ambition is articulated through Operation 300bn — a national strategy launched by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) that targets growing the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP from approximately AED 133 billion to AED 300 billion by 2031. This near-doubling of industrial output requires expansion of existing capacity, attraction of new manufacturing investment, adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies (Industry 4.0), and deepening of supply chains within the federation.
Operation 300bn: The National Industrial Strategy
Operation 300bn is the most comprehensive industrial policy framework the UAE has adopted. The strategy identifies priority subsectors — including food and beverages, machinery and equipment, pharmaceuticals, base metals, rubber and plastics, and aerospace — where the UAE has existing capabilities or can develop competitive advantages.
The strategy is supported by a suite of policy instruments. The Make it in the Emirates programme incentivises procurement from domestic manufacturers by government entities and large corporates. The National In-Country Value (ICV) programme, originally developed within the oil and gas sector, has been expanded to manufacturing, requiring a percentage of supply chain spending to be directed toward UAE-based companies. The Emirates Development Bank (EDB) provides concessional financing and guarantees to industrial enterprises, with a mandate to deploy AED 30 billion in financing over five years.
MoIAT has also established the Industry 4.0 programme, which supports manufacturers in adopting robotics, additive manufacturing, IoT, digital twins, and AI-driven production management. The programme provides grants, technical assistance, and recognition through the UAE Industry 4.0 Awards.
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA)
Emirates Global Aluminium is the UAE’s largest industrial company outside the hydrocarbon sector and one of the world’s largest aluminium producers, with annual production exceeding 2.5 million tonnes. EGA operates two smelters — one at Jebel Ali in Dubai and one at Al Taweelah in Abu Dhabi — and the Al Taweelah alumina refinery, which processes imported bauxite ore into the alumina feedstock for smelting.
EGA’s aluminium is used in a wide range of applications, from automotive and aerospace to construction and packaging, and is exported to customers across more than 50 countries. The company is jointly owned by Mubadala Investment Company (Abu Dhabi) and the Investment Corporation of Dubai, making it a rare example of inter-emirate sovereign industrial collaboration.
EGA has invested in downstream value addition, including the production of foundry alloys, billets, and speciality products. The company has also made significant investments in solar power to reduce the carbon intensity of its production, aligning with the Net Zero 2050 agenda. The Guinea Alumina Corporation, EGA’s bauxite mining operation in the Republic of Guinea, secures upstream feedstock and extends the company’s vertical integration across the aluminium value chain.
STRATA Manufacturing
STRATA Manufacturing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala, is the UAE’s primary aerospace composites manufacturer. Based in Al Ain, STRATA produces aerostructure components — including empennage ribs, wing components, and fuselage panels — for Airbus, Boeing, and other major aerospace OEMs. The facility represents the UAE’s most advanced entry into global aerospace supply chains and demonstrates the federation’s capacity to compete in high-precision, safety-critical manufacturing.
STRATA’s operations are certified to international aerospace quality standards (AS9100) and have secured long-term supply contracts that embed the company within the production programmes of current-generation commercial aircraft. The company’s expansion plans include increasing composite and metallic component production and developing capabilities in next-generation materials and manufacturing processes.
Emirates Steel Arkan
Emirates Steel Arkan, formed through the merger of Emirates Steel Industries and Arkan Building Materials, is the UAE’s largest integrated steel manufacturer and one of the only steel producers in the Gulf to operate an electric arc furnace route using direct reduced iron (DRI). The company’s production facilities, located in Abu Dhabi’s ICAD industrial zone, produce reinforcement bar, wire rod, and steel sections for the construction sector, as well as heavy plate and structural steel.
Emirates Steel Arkan has invested in green steel production initiatives, including the use of hydrogen as a reducing agent in DRI production — a partnership with ADNOC that positions the company at the forefront of decarbonisation in the global steel industry. The UAE’s green steel ambitions align with increasing demand from European and Asian buyers for low-carbon construction materials.
Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences
The UAE’s pharmaceutical manufacturing sector has grown significantly, driven by government policy to reduce dependence on imported medicines and develop a domestic supply base. Companies such as Julphar (Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries), Neopharma, and the recently established biosimilar and vaccine manufacturing facilities in Abu Dhabi are expanding production capacity across generics, biologics, and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
The Abu Dhabi government, through Mubadala Health and other entities, has invested in life sciences infrastructure including the Khalifa University campus, clinical research facilities, and genomic research programmes. The pharmaceutical sector benefits from streamlined regulatory pathways established by the Ministry of Health and Prevention and the Abu Dhabi Department of Health.
Food Processing and Security
Food processing is one of the largest manufacturing subsectors by employment and revenue. The UAE’s food security strategy, crystallised by the establishment of the Emirates Food Security Council, has driven investment in domestic food production, processing, and storage capacity. Major facilities produce dairy products, beverages, snack foods, meat processing, and packaged goods for both domestic consumption and re-export across the GCC and wider region.
The Abu Dhabi-based KEZAD and Dubai-based Dubai Industrial City host large clusters of food manufacturing operations. Companies such as Al Ain Farms, National Food Products Company (NFPC), and Agthia Group operate integrated food production and distribution platforms. The food sector’s growth is underpinned by the UAE’s position as a logistics and distribution hub for the Middle East and Africa.
Outlook Under We the UAE 2031
The AED 300 billion target under Operation 300bn is ambitious but grounded in identifiable growth pathways: expansion of existing metals and chemicals production, scaling of aerospace and defence manufacturing, development of pharmaceutical capacity, growth in food processing, and adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies across all subsectors. The sector’s success by 2031 will be measured not only by GDP contribution but by the depth of supply chain localisation, the proportion of high-technology manufacturing, and the number of globally competitive industrial enterprises headquartered in the UAE.