Abu Dhabi unveils 'instant licensing' plan for small energy businesses

The Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) and Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) will offer instant licensing services to eligible businesses through the emirate's government system, 'Tamm'.

According to a DoE statement on Saturday, free two-year licenses will be issued within one working day as part of Abu Dhabi's initiatives to facilitate fast and effective services to small-size energy firms in the emirate.

"This new facility aligns with Abu Dhabi’s strategic direction by increasing the ease of obtaining licences and by creating an environment conducive to conducting business," Hamad Al Ameri, licensing and compliance section head at DoE said. The license types cover activities such as water production treatment and desalination, electricity generation and wastewater collection, among others.

Abu Dhabi has jumped 23 places on the global ranking for doing business and is now ranked 12th worldwide according to the World Bank’s 2019 ‘Doing Business’ Report.

The latest move to issue instant licenses for eligible energy firms, is one its initiatives to make the emirate more business-friendly and investor-friendly by making various processes faster, simpler and smarter.

According to Mohamed Abdulhameed Al Askar, director of government and partnership affairs at Adda, the new service aims to drive Abu Dhabi's business environment in line with its 'Ghadan 21' programme.

Ghadan 21 - translated as Tomorrow 21 - was launched in June, 2018 by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The 50 billion dirhams package of major reforms is expected to transform doing business in Abu Dhabi, featuring several initiatives across key areas such as business and investment, society, knowledge and investment and lifestyle.

(Writing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@refinitiv.com, editing by Daniel Luiz)

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