Dubai: Gulf Craft, a boat and yacht builder based in Ajman, is investing $100 million to set up a shipyard and service centre in Dubai Maritime City (DMC) over the next five years.

The free hold plot where the facility will be built is located within the marine district of maritime cluster DMC, covering an area of around 900,000 square feet, according to a company statement on Wednesday.

The shipyard, where Gulf Craft will build high-end luxury yachts, and service centre will join the manufacturer’s three other shipyards and service centres in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Maldives.

Manufacturing at the facility should start in two years time, Erwin Bamps, chief executive of Gulf Craft, told Gulf News in a phone interview on Wednesday, but he added that it “too early” to say exactly when the facility will be completed.

“We are in the planning stage. I don’t see any contribution to revenue before the completion of the first phase,” he added.

The new shipyard will boost Gulf Craft’s production capacity and widen its product range.

“From the onset, we were supportive of [DMC] but we weren’t able to commit ourselves as investors in the project until now. We had facilities under development, and now we are reaching the limit of these facilities. The [DMC] facility is essential for further expansion,” Bamps said.

The manufacturer has delivered more than 9,000 vessels to date. It builds between 400 and 450 vessels a year.

Buyers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (representing 70 per cent of the total) are the biggest contributors to the company’s revenue, followed by those from Europe, the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia, according to Bamps.

In the last two years the growth of the UAE boating market has picked up, buoyed by the recovering economy and new waterfront developments.

Gulf Craft’s sales are expected to grow by 15 per cent in 2014 over the previous year, Mohammed Alshaali, chairman of Gulf Craft, previously told Gulf News.

The company, which has a 25-30 per cent share in the GCC market, expects to launch its biggest vessel, the Dh80 million Majesty 155, at the Dubai International Boat Show next year.