Bajammal: Huge Investment Projects Frozen due to September 11 Incidents [Archives:2002/04/Business & Economy]

The September 11 incidents in the US have become a dividing line to some countries before and after the September 11 incidents. Prime Minister, Dr. Abdulkader Bajammal confirmed that Yemen’s economy was progressing, but the US September 11 terrorist attacks against the New York city and Washington DC greatly affected Yemen’s economy.
In a statement to Al-Ahram Newspaper, Dr. Bajammal said that Yemen came out of the 1994 Civil War and the reserves of the Central Bank of Yemen was USD 460 million, inflation reached to 120 percent and the deficits in the balance of payments reached to 22 percent out of the overall national outcome. But economic reform programs have their positive consequences with regard to the high increase of the reserves of the Central Bank of Yemen to reach 2 percent out of overall national outcome. The inflation has reached to 9,7 percent and the deficiency has been controlled out of the overall national outcome.
The September 11 terrorist acts were disappointing and resulted in the decrease of the deficit in the general budget to reach 9 percent due to the reduction of the petrol revenues.
Dr. Bajammal pointed out that the deficit in the budget took place because the prices of the 2001 were arranged on the basis that the price of the barrel ranging from USD 26 to 27. But the recession of international oil prices after the US September 11 terrorist attacks against the New York city and Washington DChas urged the government to fix the price of the barrel at USD 18 in the 2002 budget. ” The US incidents are greatly affected investment. So we have three huge projects, the first one is the liquefied petroleum gas project at the cost of USD 5,2 billion for exporting it India. We are at the two bows’ length from signing an agreement, unfortunately incidents have turned things upside down. India has closed its doors and it is supposed for India to buy the half of the liquefied gas which is abut to be imported totaling 6,5 million tons annually”, Bajammal said.
He attributed the cause to the companies’ bankruptcy. Even an American company for exporting the Yemeni liquefied gas in India has become completely bankrupt. The Prime Minister has stated that the Yemen’s orientation towards investing liquefied gas in the European market will be as an alternative for the Asian Markets.
The second project is the operation of the first electrical gas station in Marib Governorate at the cost of USD 500. The project is about to be signed with American companies to invest this project in August last year. But after the September 11 terrorist acts in the US is of no avail due to the reduction of the interest rate. In the same context, Bajammal didn’t point out the third project was crippled after September 11 terrorist acts in the US. He confirmed that American investors will come to invest their capitals in Yemen.

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