Dubai Industrial City, a member of Tatweer, has started leasing 1,500,000 sq ft of warehouses it plans to deliver by December 2007.

Rashed Al Ansari, chief executive officer (CEO) of Dubai Industrial City, stated that the new facilities which comprise  220 warehouses are currently being leased by companies that are interested in leasing storage facilities close to the new Jebel Ali Airport (Dubai World Central) and Jebel Ali Free zone and to meet the increasing market demand on warehouses.

"The new facilities mark a milestone in the development of the city and its construction. We have already started leasing 80 warehouses of 10,000 sq ft of storage space and 140 warehouses of 5,000 sq ft of space,” he explained.

He added that more than 60 per cent of construction of the secured warehouse compound is completed at a cost of Dh290 million.

"These facilities will reinforce our offering and allow companies better management of their goods as we are leasing cold storage warehouses for food and beverage items, and warehouses for base metals, equipments and transportation parts, in addition to warehouses equipped with showrooms at the front to allow companies to display the products they are storing at the back. These facilities form part of our efforts to complement the various industrial zones operating across the city.

“These 220 warehouses form an essential component of our strategic plans to construct major facilities that support the various operation and business needs of our industrial zones. They can be leased in multiples of 5,000 and are connected to a network of roads that serve the area,” Rashed pointed out.

He also stressed that following the completion of all warehouse constructions, the facilities will be operated by transPARK, which is set up in partnership between DI and Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN), the world leader in contract logistics, and the parent company of DHL, Danzas and Exel.

“TransPARK, through its global expertise and professional world class service, will offer a competitive operational advantage to the benefit of our customers and their operation at DI,” Rashed concluded.

Located in close proximity to the new Jebel Ali Airport and Jebel Ali Port, with easy accessibility to major highways such as Sheikh Zayed Road, Emirates Road and the Dubai Ring Road, Dubai Industrial City covers 560 million sq ft, offering a dedicated industrial destination comprising six industrial clusters for food and beverage, base metal, mineral products, chemicals, transport equipment and parts, and machinery and mechanical equipment.

Complementary facilities for logistics, warehousing, labour cities, in addition to commercial, residential and entertainment zones, position Dubai Industrial City as a comprehensive one stop-shop destination, providing tenants with a critical competitive advantage in the areas of human resources, logistics and business operations. - TradeArabia News Service