Dubai Industrial City ties up with government bodies to promote manufacturing sector

Emirates Development Bank will allocate $272m as financial support for new industrial companies in DIC

Ahmed Al Naqbi of Emirates Development Bank, Omar Al Suwaidi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Saud Al Shawareb of Tecom Group sign the strategic partnership agrShow more

Dubai Industrial City, a business district managed by Tecom Group, signed three strategic partnership agreements on Wednesday to support the UAE's push to become a manufacturing and industrial hub in the region.

It signed agreements with the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Emirates Development Bank and the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai.

The business district also unveiled its Make Brilliance campaign to position itself as a leading manufacturing hub and attract different investors and stakeholders to the community.

“The agreements represent significant milestones in DIC’s ongoing efforts to boost industrialisation and strengthen the industrial sector in the UAE and Dubai,” Saud Al Shawareb, executive vice president of industrial leasing at Tecom Group, said.

“DIC is a key stakeholder in the UAE’s Make it in the Emirates initiative, Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and Operation 300bn.”

Omar Al Suwaidi, undersecretary of the ministry, and Ahmed Al Naqbi, chief executive of Emirates Development Bank, were among officials present at the event.

Boosting the UAE’s manufacturing and industrial sectors is at the centre of the country’s economic diversification strategy.

In 2021, the country launched its industrial strategy Operation 300bn to position it as a global industrial hub by 2031.

The 10-year plan map focuses on increasing the industrial sector’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product to Dh300 billion ($81.6 billion) in 2031 from Dh133 billion in 2021.

The strategy focuses on boosting production in 11 priority sectors, supporting the growth of national industries, attracting foreign investment and ensuring availability of dedicated financing for local industrial companies.

The Make it in the Emirates campaign, which comes under Operation 300bn, encourages local and international investors to manufacture and export products from the UAE.

As part of the first agreement with the MoIAT and EDB, Dubai Industrial City will work to support the Make it in the Emirates campaign, Mr Al Shawareb said.

Under the deal, EDB, the state-owned lender that provides financing to priority sectors, will allocate Dh1 billion as financial support for new industrial companies in DIC.

This is a continuation of a partnership with EDB since October 2021 where the lender provided Dh513.4 million in financing to DIC’s business partners, said Mr Al Shawareb.

Meanwhile, the second partnership with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment will reaffirm the DIC’s commitment towards supporting the National Food Security Strategy 2051 and UAE Net Zero 2050 initiatives through its ecosystem and operational business partners, the senior executive said.

DIC customers currently generate more than 400 megawatts of clean energy per year, he said.

The third agreement with the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism is aimed at promoting the D33 agenda by boosting the industrial sector’s contribution to the emirate’s GDP and attracting more foreign investments in the sector, Mr Al Shawareb said.

DIC had more than 800 customers, 300 operating factories and has attracted a total of $8.4 billion in direct investment as of the end of last year.

It offers a purpose-built manufacturing and logistics ecosystem with integrated solutions to customers in different sectors.