By Uglobal Staff
Citizenship-by-investment programs are helping build critical infrastructure around the world, including airports, hospitals and sustainable housing projects.
One example is Commonwealth of Dominica, which recently announced the construction of its first international airport funded largely by the money it generated via its popular citizenship-by-investment program.
The airport, which will connect the Caribbean nation with the U.S. and Europe directly, is expected to become operational by 2025. The airport "will create an ocean of opportunities for everyone, " Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit announced in a ceremony while signing an agreement with the Montreal Management Company for its construction.
Dominica also announced it would complete the construction of its new Marigot Hospital with CBI funds; the country has this year launched six new health centers already and is expected to complete another full-fledged 75-bed hospital by the end of this year.
Another venue for its CBI funds is to build climate-resilient residential structures for its citizens. Earlier this month, it gave away 10 residential units to families in the Cochrane village under its Housing Revolution project, which was completely funded with CBI money. The project aims to build 5,000 such homes in the country.
In St. Kitts and Nevis, CBI funds are helping to support the payment of salaries to government employees. The country's Prime Minister Timothy Harris told the media earlier this month that the CBI funds ensured that no employee or retiree went without their dues during the pandemic. His government has so far spent $115 million on 6,400 people as part of their paychecks this year. It also spent $21 million on a skills-based training project by utilizing its CBI funds. Its poverty alleviation program for low-income households has also benefited; $13.4 million was spent on it using the CBI funds.
Vanuatu, which began offering a real estate stream to investors in April, is using its CBI funds to build and improve infrastructure in the health, education as well as the tourism sectors.
In the UAE, recent citizenship reforms have paved the way for investors to gain long term residency and citizenship, which in turn has improved the business landscape of the gulf state benefiting millions. Highly skilled people such as university professors and artists are also now getting a shot at the coveted Emirati citizenship which in turn is expected to increase innovation and spur growth in the otherwise gas based economy. CBI is adding to UAE’s goals of diversifying its economy.
In Europe, countries like Portugal are utilizing CBI money to push development in its low-density areas. Soon, investors will only be allowed to invest in such areas instead of its big cities like Lisbon. It hopes that by encouraging investors to put their money in areas like Aljezur, Douro Valley and Peneda Geres, new tourist hotspots and infrastructure would come into place. Even in places like Malta, whose RCBI program has recently come into controversy, almost 70% of the funds generated via the CBI programs was being sent to a social fund agency, which would then use it to build public housing and hospitals among other things. Between 2013 and 2018, the country's National Development and Social Fund agency had received about 423 million euros via CBI generated funds.
There are several examples like these from around the world, which points to the fact that as long as RCBI is done legally and by following strict due diligence procedures, this is an industry that boosts not only the investors, but it has the potential to improve nations.
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