PRESS RELEASES
Dubai, July 23,2008
Plans are underway to meet increased market demand for warehouses with another 1.5 million square feet of facilities that are due to be released in the market by the end of 2008.
Dubai Industrial City, a member of Tatweer, today announced that it has completely leased all of its 1.5 million square feet of warehouses which make up half of first phase of storage facilities that the city launched into the market a couple of months back.
Rashed Al Ansari, Vice President of Dubai Industrial City explained that the warehouses were leased out by business investors in the market due to the superlative quality the storage facilities offered, especially when it comes to fire and safety levels.
"This is an indication of the dynamism of the industrial sector which is experiencing a tremendous boom in the city. Moreover, we managed to grab the lion’s share given that our warehouses offer high standards when it comes to fire resistance and safety measures; which is what responsible companies look for. The warehouses are built using pre-cast concrete walls that can contain a fire for four hours and stop it from spreading into neighboring facilities, the doors are also fire proof, and all our units include independent fire fighting systems with equipment such as alarm panels, sprinkler systems as well as fire hose reels and fire exit doors."
He added that Maqayees, the Dubai Centre for Industrial Standards which is in-charge of implementing all Quality, Health, Safety and Environment (QHSE) standards within the city is also mandated to ensure that the storage materials in the warehouses are safe and offer no hazards to the surrounding community.
"Maqayees has authenticated the safety features within the warehouses and they have the right to inspect all storage materials kept in the warehouses to ensure that they conform to our QHSE standards," Rashed said.
He further noted that DI was currently building another 1.5 million square feet of warehouses which are expected to be operational before the end of this year.
"The new facilities will help consolidate our position in the market as one of the largest players in the warehouse industry in Dubai. We are positive about the future of warehouses here especially considering we are building them in line with the latest safety standards to offer high quality and peace of mind to our investors," Rashed explained.
He added that the warehouses are 5,000 and 10,000 square feet in size and are flexible in order to expand in multiples to be customized to the user’s needs in terms of size. Their ideal location adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport and Dubai World Central, as well as its close proximity to Jebel Ali Free Zone and Port and being midway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, were additional plus points that contributed to the strong market demand to lease them.
"These warehouses are part of our strategy to offer comprehensive services related to the industrial sector across our city. Storage is vital for industries and we have decided to offer the latest in warehousing facilities meeting our QHSE standards to offer our clients upgraded facilities that meet and exceed their operational needs," Rashed concluded.
Spread over 560 million square feet, the dedicated destination which is designed according to a viable live, work and play concept features 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 villages, industrial training 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.
