Dubai Industrial City posts 82pc growth
Dubai Industrial City, a member of Tecom Investments, recorded an 82 per cent growth in new companies during 2012 compared to 2011 and predicted another significant growth in 2013 on growing interest from Gulf investors, according to a top official of the city.
The City attracted 212 new companies last year and its total firms reached 471 compared to total 259 in 2011. It is considered the largest industrial real estate project in Dubai and is spread across 560 million square feet of land.
Warehouse occupancy rate has also increased to reach 82 per cent of a total of 7 million square feet of storage facilities available in the city, in addition to a 100 per cent occupancy rates recorded in the city's 3 million square feet of open storage lands.
"We are very optimistic about this year [2013] as the Dubai Industrial City contin- ues to be an attractive industrial and logistic hub for local and regional companies," Abdullah Belhoul, managing director of Dubai Industrial City, told media persons at a news conference.
The DI is not a free zone, but it has its own advantages, Belhoul said, adding that industries in the city can take benefit from a number of free trade agreements signed by the GCC and they can export duty free.
Belhoul stressed the importance of the industrial sector, being the second largest contributor to the total GDP of the UAE. He pointed out that Dubai is currently witnessing a visible economic recovery, which demonstrates investors' confidence in the economy of the Emirate and the whole UAE. He mentioned that a large number of local and regional companies chose Dubai Industrial City as a preferred destination for their storage and logistical facilities, including Juma Al Majid Group, Home Centre, Al Gurg Unilever and Al Futtaim Logistics, which have occupied a combined area of more than 940,000 square feet of warehouses in the city.
The industrial destination was established to serve as a catalyst for the growth and expansion of the industrial sector in the UAE - with specific emphasis on Machinery and Mechanical equipment, Transport Equipment and parts, Base Metal, Chemicals, Food and Beverage and Mineral Products.
The city, which is one of the largest specialised hubs in light to medium manufacturing sectors in Dubai, has also witnessed a growing demand for industrial land, as a growing number of industrial investors such as Othman Mohamed Sharif, Al Barakh Dates Factory, and Interpro Wood Industries have leased more than 5 million square feet of industrial land in 2012, marking an increase of 14 per cent in industrial companies in DI compared to 2011.