Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Ports has announced that it signed nine standard “Musataha” agreements (SMAs), in the first quarter of 2015, increasing the number of Kizad investors by 15 per cent in just three months.
Four of the companies have already announced their commitment to invest in the industrial zone, these include National Catering Company, Gulf Precast, Safe Care Medical and, most recently, Advanced Manufacturing Solutions.
A further five companies have now signed SMAs with Abu Dhabi Ports, including HCG, Afaq Al Khaleej, Schmidt Logistics, Naseem Al Bawadi and Tmdeed. All of these companies have international business links and are, in different ways, logistics focused.
Combined, the nine new investors represent an investment worth more than $232 million (Dh853 million) and their new plots cover a land area of over 422,000 square meters.
To date, 71 national and international investors have chosen Kizad as their production or logistics base. Ten of these will have completed construction and will be fully operational by the end of this year. Abu Dhabi Ports has now leased a total of 11 million square metres of land in the trade and logistics zone, which represents a total investment of more than $13 billion (Dh47.75 billion).
Once these investors are fully operational, Khalifa Port’s throughput is expected to increase by 900,000 tonnes of general cargo and containers annually.
