Jafza Says Dh5 Billion of Projects on Track
Jafza, operator of Dubai’s logistics and industrial special economic zone, said on Monday that it has seen an increase in interest from American and European businesses keen to expand in the region
Talala Al Hashimi, Managing Director of Economic Zone World, the parent company of Jafza, said that he was surprised by the level of interest shown by Western manufacturers to set-up their operations in Dubai. “What we did not expect is the level of interest shown by them. They have shown tremendous interest to come and establish here,” he told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of a media briefing by the company to update on its expansion projects.
Al Hashimi reckons that the low overhead costs in Dubai, along with its other strengths such as location, connectivity and infrastructure as the main attractions for these companies. “The downsizing that is happening in US and Europe is good opportunity for us. You cannot produce without employees…the overheads are much cheaper here. It is not necessary to have the whole production here but you can have a part of your production here,” he said.
He acknowledged that the global economic crisis has impacted Jafza “but not at that level we are suffering”. Al Hashimi said that the Jafza is confident of achieving a “reasonable” occupancy rate of 60-70 per cent by the year end. He said that about 6,400 companies operate in Jafza and another 1,000 companies are on the waiting list.
