The steel companies in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) recorded a 20 per cent growth last year, more than the rate of the industry growth in the UAE, according to a report.

The zone’s steel manufacturers and traders are expecting the momentum in growth to further pick up in the current year, said the Emirates News Agency (WAM) report.

The upswing comes on the back of rapid economic development in the region and fast revival of real estate and infrastructure projects in Dubai and other parts of the UAE, it said.

"The remarkable growth is largely driven by robust recovery in the real estate industry and planned infrastructure projects in the UAE and other GCC countries,” Ibrahim Mohammed Al Janahi, deputy chief executive officer of Jafza and chief commercial officer of Economic Zones World, the parent company of Jafza, was quoted as saying.

“Expo 2020 is going to provide a further boost to the construction sector in general and steel industry in particular, across the region. Jafza accounts for almost 40 per cent of the steel produced in the country, therefore, the growth in the sector reflects the economic resurgence in the region,” he said.

Conares Steel, the second largest steel manufacturer in the country operating at Jafza, has reported a 40 per cent growth last year and expects similar growth this year, while Qatar Steel Company recorded more than 300 per cent growth in the last five year, said the report.

Other firms expecting to maintain substantial growth over the coming years include Duke International, a leading player in structural steel; Nimr Steel, a leading stockist and dealer in structural steel; and AB Metals, the exclusive dealer of Abu Dhabi-based Al Ghurair Iron and Steel’s GI coils and sheets for Saudi Arabia, it added.