Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), the UAE’s flagship trade and logistics hub, has unveiled a string of new projects that will continue to position the zone as one of the world’s leading free zones.
The new facilities, annnounced by Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World and chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Jafza, include: A light industrial warehouse complex with 455 units; a multi-storey 207,000-sq-m complex with room for 500 warehouse units; a multi-storey car storage with capacity for 12,000 cars; and onsite accommodation for 30,000 employees.
The announcement came as Jafza celebrated its 30th anniversary at an event participated by customers and partners, at Port Rashid. The celebrations were attended by Dubai government officials including Abdulrahman Al Saleh, director general- Dubai Finance Department; Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, vice- chairman DP World; and Ahmad Mahboob, director of Dubai Customs.
Bin Sulayem related the challenges that the founders of Jafza faced in setting up the free zone and the support they received from customers in turning it into a major success story and one of the leading business hubs in the region.
He said that the strategic vision of Jafza was to attract foreign investment to Dubai in line with the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to diversify Dubai’s economy from oil and add value to the national economy.
Jafza has promoted trade between Dubai and global markets generating economic growth for the emirate and providing employment. It contributes more than 21 per cent of Dubai’s GDP and enables a quarter of non-oil trade (by volume). In 2015, Jafza’s total trade amounted to more than Dh321 billion ($87.36 billion), attracting 32 per cent of total foreign investment into the UAE.
Speaking on the new projects, Bin Sulayem said: “The concept of a multi-storey warehouse meets the increasing demand for Jafza’s facilities as the free zone has reached high occupancy levels. Jafza has always been known as an innovator and these are unique projects in the region.
“Over the years, we have built warehouses and storage facilities with international specifications to meet the requirements of our customers. Our team of engineers has studied similar initiatives around the world and we have designed them to suit the requirements of the UAE," he said.
The project will be located in Jafza South, strategically close to the Expo 2020 site occupying an area of 207,000 sq m. The warehouse includes four floors to be built in stages, with a total capacity of 500 units. The warehouse will range from 300-500 sq m, with average office space of 80 sq m.
Multi-Storey Car Storage: The five-storey facility will serve the Dubai Auto Zone to optimise the use of land and to cope with high occupancy rates. It will be located in the National Industries Park (formerly known as Techno Park) close to Jebel Ali Port, enabling the import and re-export of vehicles for customers. It will cover an area of 82,000 sq m and can accommodate up to 12,000 cars at a time.
It will be equipped with all the essential services required by the automotive industry under one roof, including a 4,000-sq-m office space for processing transactions and a 1,300-sq-m workshop area for repairing, modifying and adapting vehicles according to customer specifications.
Light Industrial Units/Warehouses: This complex is suitable for storage as well as administrative office space. It will initially comprise 455 thermally insulated units with the warehouse measuring 270 sq m and individual office space estimated at 75 sq m. The units will cater for the integrated needs of the supply chain and logistics sector, enabling customers to distribute to regional markets.
Onsite residences: Jafza has been providing on site accommodation for employees of its customers within the free zone for a number of years with more than 10,000 rooms with occupancy rates reaching almost 99 per cent. A new complex consisting of 30 buildings, each with 10 floors will now be built to tackle the issue. It will be able to house almost 30,000 employees with restaurants, retail stores and recreational areas planned alongside.
Meanwhile, in its efforts to promote a sustainable environment Jafza is also retrofitting buildings and facilities to reduce energy consumption by 30 per cent. In the first phase of the project, 157 buildings will be refurbished to improve energy and water consumption by replacing 5,000 old air conditioners with modern split ACs that feature international technological standards.
Over 85,000 traditional lamps will be replaced with LEDs and 31,000 old water fixtures will be replaced with efficient water units. The changes will save around 158 GW/hour of electricity and 1.2 billion gallons of water over the next six years, amounting to a monetary saving of Dh132 million. - TradeArabia News Service
Jafza launches new warehouse complexes
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