Abu Dhabi: Agility, the Gulf region’s largest logistics company, will build a new warehouse in Abu Dhabi as part of its expansion plans in the emirate, a senior executive of the company told Gulf News on Tuesday.
“We will be investing Dh80 million in the construction of a new warehouse, which will be ready by November 2017. The new warehouse will cater to the needs of retail customers, oil and gas companies and Etihad airways in storage of goods and distribution,” said Bassel Al Dabbagh, chief executive officer of Agility in Abu Dhabi at Breakbulk Middle East conference.
The new warehouse will come up in an area spanning 21,000 square metres in Musaffah Industrial Zone, he said.
In addition to the warehouse, the company will also be investing in buying 50 new trucks at an investment of Dh15 million.
“We see the market growing in Abu Dhabi. In 2016, volumes were little bit flat. In the second half of next year we expect the volumes to pick up again. We are committed to Abu Dhabi and optimistic about its growth.”
Al Dabbagh expects the opening of the new mid field terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport to boost cargo business in the emirate.
“We would see more cargo coming to Abu Dhabi. This would benefit our company. We also have a plan to offer warehouse facility at the new terminal in the logistics city.”
The new Dh10.8 billion mid field terminal is expected to be opened in December next year.
The Kuwait-based logistics firm also plans to strengthen its presence in Kizad by developing a number of logistics services at the industrial zone.
“We are strengthening our presence by obtaining a plot of land at Kizad to offer number of services like open yard storage and container services. In the long run, we plan to build a warehouse at Kizad to accommodate more cargo as the UAE focuses on [the] diversification of the economy.”
He said the company has been handling 75,000 containers of cargo a year in Abu Dhabi and a similar number in Dubai.
Agility has operations in more than 100 countries with an annual revenue of $4.3 billion. It is publicly traded on the stock exchanges of Dubai and Kuwait. The company has recently opened a distribution park in Ghana as it tries to expand on the African continent.
