Dubai has unveiled a record government budget for 2026-2028, pegging spending during the three-year cycle at Dh302.7 billion ($82.42 billion) as it lays out the financial road map for its ambitious growth targets.

The emirate, the commercial, financial and leisure hub of the Middle East, aims to generate total revenue of Dh329.2 billion, with operating surplus hitting the 5 per cent of projected 2026 GDP, Dubai Media Office said.

“The Dubai government budget for the years 2026-2028 outlines a financial road map to accelerate the realisation of Dubai’s ambitions towards enhancing the growth of its vital sectors and affirming its position as a global economic centre,” Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, said in a post on X.

The funds will help the emirate “achieve the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33”, which aims to double gross domestic product and make it one of the top three economic cities in the world by 2033, he added.

2026 budget allocations

Approved by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the budgetary targets have pinned expenditure of Dh99.5 billion for the fiscal year 2026 alone.

The Dubai government’s general budget for the next financial year aims to direct spending to across the emirate’s economy from infrastructure and security to community development, the media office said.

For the 12-month period ending December 2026, Dubai aims to hit revenue of Dh107.7 billion, it added.

In terms of spending lay out, the emirate plans to allocate about 48 per cent of the total to the infrastructure and construction projects sector. This is the largest chunk of spending in the next fiscal year, which underpins the importance of the sector to the emirate’s economy and its growth prospects.

The second biggest share of spending will go to the community development sector at 28 per cent. Dubai’s security, justice, and safety sector will receive 18 per cent of the budget allocation, while 6 per cent will be channelled into the government development sector, the media office said.

Economic momentum

Dubai’s economy, which has maintained robust momentum since bouncing back from the Covid-driven slowdown, expanded by 4.4 per cent in the first half of this year amid the push for diversification.

Gross domestic product in the six months to the end of June reached Dh241 billion, with second-quarter growth surging 4.7 per cent annually to Dh122 billion, Sheikh Hamdan announced earlier this month.

Dubai aims to double the size of its economy to Dh32 trillion over the next decade and establish the emirate among the top three global cities as part of its D33 strategy, launched in 2023.

The plan aims to support 30 private companies in their push to become unicorns – a start-up valued at more than $1 billion.

The D33 agenda also aims to raise the contribution of foreign direct investment to Dubai’s economy from an average of Dh32 billion annually in the past decade to an average of Dh60 billion annually in the next decade, to reach a total of Dh650 billion over the next 10 years.

Broad-based growth

Dubai’s tourism and property sector, which has been a major contributor to sustained economic momentum in recent years continued to grow in the first half, with with both the number of tourists and property deals rising.

Dubai hosted 12.54 million international overnight visitors in the first eight months of 2025 − up 5 per cent year on year, the Department of Economy and Tourism said.

In the first half of 2025, the volume and value of all real estate transactions in Dubai also jumped sharply, as more than 59,000 investors joined the market, according to data released by the Dubai Media in July.

The number of transactions reached 125,538, up nearly 26 per cent on an annual basis, while the value of these transactions rose about 25 per cent to about Dh431 billion, the data showed.

Mobile phone packages comparison

Overview

What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.

When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.

Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.

Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.

Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.

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ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsWHAT%20IS%20’JUICE%20JACKING’%3F

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsCompany%20profile

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsHow to wear a kandura

Dos

Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying

New UK refugee system

 

A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
Shortened leave to remain – refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds

Results:

First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15

Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24

Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15

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Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5