Dubai witnesses impressive growth

Dubai Industrial City, a member of TECOM Investments, witnessed a very successful year in 2013 with an impressive financial performance, where revenue increased by 33.2 percent and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) registered 67.1 percent. According to figures released today by Dubai Industrial City, the increase in revenue was driven mainly by land leases and warehouses lease, which registered an increase of 44.1 percent and 51.6 percent respectively. The City saw a remarkable growth on all sides, where it attracted 158 new companies in 2013. Strong results were also achieved in all products in Dubai Industrial City, where the new industrial land leases grew 4 times more than last year. Warehouse occupancy rate reached 91 percent and labour villages' occupancy rate reached 79 percent in 2013. Speaking on the occasion, Abdullah Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Industrial City, said, "Growth in Dubai Industrial City continues to stress on the industrial sector success story in the U.A.E., where the sector contributes with 10-14 percent to the national GDP. The increase we have witnessed in 2013 also highlights our efforts in meeting the demand in this industry and our vision to provide a highly competitive platform for growth in the manufacturing and logistics sector in the U.A.E.. "This growth trend is expected to continue, driven by industrial land leases, and we will continue to see a growing number of factories becoming operational this year. Investing in infrastructure and new assets will continue to be essential for us, in order to sustain this growth in the coming years." Mr. Belhoul continued, "The newly established Halal Cluster in Dubai Industrial City stems from our ambition to act as a true enabler of Dubai's ambition to become the global capital of the Islamic economy. With the support of the Standards Department at the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA), and Accreditation Department at Dubai Municipality, we have succeeded in creating a dedicated platform for companies and investors with Halal operations in the UAE." Dubai Industrial City is home to over 500 companies.