Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (Dafza) launches the first phase of Dubai CommerCity, which is an e-commerce free zone worth of Dh 3.2 billions.
The first phase of the project will consists of 470.000 square ft out of a total of 2.1 million sq ft which will be built in Umm Ramool area, close to the International Airport in Dubai.
The Dubai Airport Freezone Authority chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, stated on Sunday that “The launch of Dubai CommerCity aims to lead the future of e-commerce business in the region. The project has been thoroughly studied not only to provide foundational solutions, but also to stimulate and support business and prosperity at a time when the sector is going through peak growth," Moreover, "The e-commerce sector is key as its value is expected to reach $148.5 billion by 2022 in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia regions.”
The CommerCity is suppoed to be the first dedicated e-commerce free zone in Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. The first phase represents a “business cluster” with more than 320.00 square feet offices and 145.00 square feet logistics units. Moreover, there is a “multi-client warehouses”. The warehouses will be held in a logistics cluster, administered by Hellmann Worldwide Logistics as well as DHL. 51% of the warehouse space is already leased.
The GCC is the fastest-growing area dedicated to e-commerce. United Arab Emirates is the second fastest market within this area. Sheikh Ahmed claimed that an annual growth rate of 38.3% will be expected within an unspecified time-frame.
The General Director of DAFZA, Mohammed Al Zarooni mentioned that “The launch of the new Dubai CommerCity facilities comes in line within the planned schedule". He also added that "Despite the global circumstances and the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, we have witnessed an urgent need to build a world-class e-commerce platform. It is set to attract specialized companies aiming to establish their regional headquarters in the emirate of Dubai, which helps them expand and develop their regional operations to be able to keep pace with the significant growth in e-commerce”.
Apart from the already-signed contracts with Hellman and DHL, Dubai CommerCity has other partnerships with Magento Commerce and Consultancy Redbox Digital. The purpose of these partnerships with the software providers is to provide e-commerce as a service package to online retailers.
He also mentioned that “Storage built at the site will be offered under a 'pay as you go' model to allow companies to scale their operations in line with demand”.
According to recent news published by the Dubai-based venture capital company Wamda and the Massachussetts Institute of Technology's Legatum Centre for Development and Entrepreneurship, the e-commerce sector in both Middle East and North Africa saw a tremenduous increase of $22bn.
Moreover, they claimed "The bulk of growth in the sector was driven by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, which together account for 80 per cent of the region’s overall e-commerce market".