Projects need accreditation alternative

A senior official at Mubadala Development has urged quality and safety be given priority on future industrial projects in the capital.

Homaid Al Shemmari says better regulations will be needed to ensure improved safety on industrial projects. Sammy Dallal / The National

A senior official at Mubadala Development has urged that quality and safety be given priority on future industrial projects in the capital.

That is likely to require better regulations, Homaid Al Shemmari, the executive director of Mubadala Aerospace, said yesterday.

"There are a lot of industries that we are trying to build, but at the end of the day, we need to see a process, a structure. That's what we are hoping for," Mr Al Shemmari said.

The company is a unit of Mubadala Development, a strategic investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government. It owns Strata, an airframe manufacturing plant in Al Ain that has contracts to build parts for Boeing, Airbus and Finmeccanica-Alenia Aeronautica, makers of the commuter turboprop ATR.

Mr Al Shemmari also said that as Abu Dhabi kick-started an array of industries and businesses, there had to be an alternative to obtaining accreditations abroad in the United States or Europe. Currently, UAE industries must receive certifications from regulators abroad because there are no internationally recognised bodies setting quality control standards in the country.

He made his remarks on the sidelines of a meeting of the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, a more than two-year old entity that operates a network of testing facilities in the capital.

Policymakers hope that the council will play a key role in Abu Dhabi's 2030 development plan, as the non-oil economy expands.

In an interview with The National last week, the executive director of the council, Anas Al Barguthi, said he would like "Made in Abu Dhabi" to one day carry the same weight with global consumers as "Made in South Korea" or "Made in Germany" does today.

"It's only then we can step up and become a global player because we have a solid quality and safety record and system within the UAE."

Every item made at Strata's plant was inspected internally, Mr Al Shemmari said. The plant has acquired certification from US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency.

Mubadala Aerospace was providing the council with expertise and people, he said."We are helping them gear up, providing them with talent, access to our capabilities and our partners," he said. "And when they are ready for us, aerospace, aluminium, satellite communications, we will gear up under their umbrella."