KIZAD, an integral part of the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, is planning to attract more global investors to the emirate, according to Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamsi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports.

“We are planning many large-scale projects and have recently signed an AED1.1 billion 50-year-long Musataha Agreement with the Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Cooperation and Investment Company Limited (JOCIC) in China. According to the pact, JOCIC will occupy and develop approximately 23.7 million square feet of the free trade zone for companies from the Chinese province of Jiangsu. This will attract foreign investment into the emirate."

“KIZAD is expecting to see a surge in global investments and is well-equipped to facilitate operations for companies from different clusters including food packaging manufacturers, polymer converters, and aluminum and steel companies to name a few. We play a substantial role in encouraging non-oil trade and growth in Abu Dhabi as per the Vision 2030 through investments from a wide array of industries”, Captain Al Shamsi added.

“We are also contributing to the aim of enhancing Abu Dhabi’s competitiveness and productivity by bringing in foreign expertise and technology and stimulating foreign investment.”

Al Shamsi further said: “We have already reached several milestones in upgrading Khalifa Port, the second fastest-growing port in the world, which complements the logistics and trade services available at KIZAD. Currently we are constructing a quay wall, which will add an additional 600,000 square meters area for cargo handling."

“We have cemented KIZAD and Khalifa Ports's position as world-class facilities and have attracted interest in investors through our strong relationships with partners such as COSCO Shipping Line and our renowned customers such as Emirates Global Aluminum."

Captain Al Shamsi noted that Khalifa Port Free Trade Zone is the largest free trade zone in the region, extending over 100,000 square kilometers.

“We are committed to providing integrated services to our customers and potential investors. For this reason, we ensure that we always provide the best services to our investors in all segments. Recently, we extended our port capabilities to Fujairah, making sure that we can offer multiple port solutions for our customer base in the UAE.”

Captain Al Shamsi added “we are always open for discussion with other Free Zones on how we can better serve our mutual customer base, whether that might be in the region or abroad.”

When asked about the investors from Saudi Arabia and other Asian countries, he said: “ Saudi Arabia is a key partner to UAE and the two countries enjoy robust bilateral trade relations. In light of our relationship with Saudi Arabia, at the UAE-Saudi Business Forum 2017, we announced special terms of agreement for Saudi nationals looking to invest in KIZAD to facilitate their set-up at reduced costs, at the UAE-Saudi Business Forum 2017.” — SG