April 18: Developing Stories
TAKING STOCK
UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed instructed authorities to begin work on a nationwide assessment of the damage done to its infrastructure after a record-setting rainfall. The downpour flooded parts of the country, wreaking havoc on Dubai International Airport, major roadways and popular shopping centers. With UAE authorities and experts pointing to extreme weather, rather than man-made cloud seeding, as the cause of this week’s destruction, the issue of adapting buildings for the effects of climate change is expected to come to the fore, analysts say. An estimated 80% of current global building stock is expected to be standing t in 2050 – Dubai itself is home to 170,000 structures – according to real estate consultancy JLL MENA. The figures “call for governments and real estate players to significantly step up retrofitting efforts,” it said.
TAPPING LNG
Oman is ratcheting up gas production and cementing long-term contracts as it competes to supply growing demand for liquified natural gas. State-owned Oman LNG Co. signed two 10-year agreements this week: one to supply 1.6 million metric tons a year to Shell‘s gas unit and a second to supply 800,000 metric tons a year to JERA, Japan’s largest power company. Demand for LNG is projected to more than double by 2040 as industries switch from coal to gas in China, India and elsewhere in Asia.