Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: The UAE’s Federal National Council (FNR) has passed the federal budget at AED 51.4 billion for 2018.
Around 51% or AED 26.3 billion of the total budget will be allocated to social development programmes, the FNR said late Tuesday, indicating that AED 10.4 billion or 20% have been allotted to general and higher education, and AED 4.2 billion, or around 8%, were allocated to the health sector.
Around AED 22.1 billion, representing 43% of the UAE’s budget for 2018, has been allocated to government affairs, with AED 3.5 billion going to projects carried out by federal agencies. This sum entails AED 891 million for projects implemented by ministries, as well as AED 922 million for projects focused on enhancing and upgrading water and power stations across the UAE.
A sum of AED 3.2 billion has been allotted to the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, of which AED 1.6 billion has been allocated to projects by the Shaikh Zayed Housing Programme, according to the statement.
The UAE Space Agency projects have been given AED 304 million from the budget for 2018, while the UAE Red Crescent was allocated AED 300 million.
The FNR allocated AED 2 billion to the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Innovation Fund.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment has been given around AED 320 million, while the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has been allotted AED 948 million of the overall budget, the FNR revealed.
UAE minister of state for financial affairs Obaid Humaid Al Tayer said previously that revenues estimated from the value-added tax (VAT) will amount to AED 12 billion in the first year of implementation and will increase to around AED 18 billion to AED 20 billion in the second year.
The federal budget reflects revenues and spending of federal ministries and departments, but excludes the budgets of the individual seven emirates.
