RIYADH: Driven by strong growth in the non-oil sector, Abu Dhabi’s economy saw year-on-year growth of 10.5 percent in the first nine months of 2022, in what was the fastest expansion in the Middle East and North Africa region, according to Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi. Thanks to government efforts to diversify the economy, boost the private sector’s contribution and invest in human capital, Abu Dhabi continued to grow across its various sectors at the end of the third quarter of 2022. “Abu Dhabi’s robust economy continues to prove its superiority driven by … its ability to attract foreign direct investments and agile policies that enabled our economy to achieve the strongest growth in the region,” Ahmed Al Zaabi, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development said. According to statistical estimates that SCAD announced, the non-oil sectors contributed 50.3 percent to the gross domestic product, with an increase of 39 billion dirhams ($10.6 billion) to reach 417.3 billion dirhams in total by the end of the third quarter of 2022. Abu Dhabi’s real estate sector experienced an exponential 20.3 percent growth compared to the same period the previous year, as investors have been attracted to Abu Dhabi’s renowned waterfront and island communities. The accommodation and food services sector in Abu Dhabi also grew 20.2 percent in the first nine months of 2022. According to data from the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi welcomed 4.1 million international visitors in the same period, with Indian visitors accounting for 12 percent of all non-Emirati hotel guests in Abu Dhabi, totaling 480,000 visitors, a 31 percent increase from the previous year. During the first nine months of 2022, the wholesale and retail trade sector reached 45 billion dirhams, with a 17.4 percent increase year-on-year. This sector accounted for 5.4 percent of Abu Dhabi’s nine-month GDP, according to SCAD. The transport and storage sector recorded growth of 11.4 percent during the nine-month period, boosting the Emirate’s GDP by 1.7 percent. Abu Dhabi Airports reported this month that the Emirate’s five airports handled a combined total of 15.9 million passengers in 2022, tripling passenger volumes from a year ago. The manufacturing sector in the UAE’s capital grew 8.1 percent, contributing 8 percent to the GDP during the first nine months of 2022. The Abu Dhabi government will invest 10 billion dirhams across six industrial programs to more than double the size of the Emirate’s manufacturing sector to 172 billion dirhams by 2031, according to the Abu Dhabi Industrial Strategy announced last year. The new strategy will boost Abu Dhabi’s trade with international markets, with the aim of increasing the Emirate"s non-oil exports by 143 percent to 178.8 billion dirhams by 2031. Meanwhile, the city’s financial sector grew by 6.9 percent in the first nine months of 2022 on an annual basis, with a value of 28 billion dirhams, according to SCAD. The sector accounted for 5.5 percent of the GDP.