UAE firm offers to make 14.8m acres saline land arable

ISLAMABAD: A United Arab Emirates (UAE) based company, which provides water treatment solutions for agriculture purposes, on Tuesday offered its services to Pakistan for making its six-million hectors (14.826 million acres) saline land cultivable and overcome the shortage of useable water.

Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, Nazar M Gondal in a meeting here with the delegates of Magnetic Technologies, Dubai (UAE) said the government was open to introduction of latest agriculture technologies for treatment of brackish underground water in certain areas of the country.

Dubai’s debt travails

Dubai is in trouble. The pearl of the Persian Gulf whose fame and fortune washed distant shores is suddenly losing its lustre. Dubai World, a major investment company in Dubai and the jewel in the city-state’s crown, has run up an astounding $60bn debt.
 
The conglomerate is unable to meet its scheduled debt repayments and has sought a suspension. So much for its boast that ‘the sun never sets on Dubai World’. Dubai World claims to be one of the largest holding companies in the world, with its investment portfolio spreading across 100 cities and encompassing industries and sectors ranging from ports management, property development, hospitality and tourism, free -zone operations and private equity investment.