Almarkaz signs up its first tenants

A new industrial property project, Almarkaz, in Abu Dhabi has signed up its first tenants, its developer Waha Land said yesterday.

A worker looks at warehouses at the Almarkaz industrial development near Abu Dhabi. The developer is targeting small and medium enterprise tenants. Silvia Razgova / The National

A new industrial property project in Abu Dhabi has signed up its first tenants, its developer said yesterday.

Almarkaz is a 6-square-kilometre site near Mussaffah being developed by Waha Land to meet demand for high-quality light industrial and logistics space in the capital.

The developer is mainly targeting small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

"That's what's missing today in Abu Dhabi, space that targets SMEs," said Hazem Al Nowais, the chief operating officer of Waha Land, the property division of Waha Capital. Mr Al Nowais declined to name the companies that are so far moving into the project.

It is still in its first phase of development, and nine warehouses have been completed and are being leased, while other plots of land are being offered to investors to develop. Waha Land says it has spent Dh500 million (US$136.1m) so far on the first phase. It expects to spend a total of Dh750m on the first phase of Almarkaz.

Ten per cent of the existing warehouse space has already been leased to companies, including metals, plastics and storage firms, Mr Al Nowais said.

"Some are local. Some are international companies setting up in Abu Dhabi for the first time. There's one tenant that is a start-up company that is shifting its operations from another emirate," he said.

By the end of the year, at least 50 per cent of this warehouse space is likely to be occupied, he said. It is expected to take another two to three years to fill phase one. Companies are expected to start moving into the development in the coming weeks.

Some international and local investors are interested in leasing land at the site, according to the developer. These include property investors, private-equity funds, and logistics companies, Waha Land said.

Once the first phase has been developed, the investment is expected to be worth about Dh2 billion, Mr Al Nowais said. Four phases are planned for the site. "As a developer we're also concerned with the space being leased out," said Mr Al Nowais. "But I think, when you have a product like this, when the product is a quality product, you shouldn't have an issue leasing it out.

"It's always a challenge to get people to commit their [capital expenditure] into a project and lease the units at a schedule that you have put for yourself."

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