Jafza seeks tenants for Dh1.9bn convention centre

The free zone authority and master developer said it had finally completed work on the first phase of the convention centre on Sheikh Zayed Road in Jebel Ali, which it started in 2007 but stalled following the global financial crisis.

Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza) is looking for tenants to fill 43,000 square metres of offices at its long-awaited Dh1.9 billion convention centre.

The free zone authority and master developer said yesterday that it had finally completed work on the first phase of its 72,700 square metre convention centre on Sheikh Zayed Road in Jebel Ali, which it started in 2007 but stalled following the global financial crisis.

Jafza said that the first phase of its 34-storey twin tower JafzaOne Convention Centre Complex would be ready to be handed over to tenants on December 1, while the remainder of the scheme would be completed by the end of next year.

When completed, the 138-metre tall complex will also comprise a 1,500 square metre exhibition hall, a 1,000 square metre banqueting hall, a 606-seat auditorium, and a 320-room four-star hotel.

Jafza hopes the complex will one day compete with the long established Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre which hosts more than 500 events each year.

In October, the contractor Habtoor Leighton Group said it had won a Dh275 million order to build the next phase of the project after years of delay.

Jafza said that it had already signed “a number” of tenants for the office complex which will also include a 22-outlet food court, but was unable to give further details or to disclose quoting rents.

The Jafza and Economic Zones World chief executive Salma Ali Saif bin Hareb said that the building provided “the next logical step” for the company, following on from its high rise office buildings Jafza View 18 and 19, which it completed in 2008, and its showrooms which it completed in 2011.

The news comes just days before the Bureau International des Expositions makes its final decision over whether Dubai or one of its rivals will host the World Expo 2020 exhibition. The Jebel Ali Free Zone is located close to the proposed Expo site.

However, local property agents said that letting space in the building could prove challenging if rents were not set at a competitive level.

Quoted rents for offices at Limitless’ nearby The Galleries scheme stand at around Dh150 per square foot per year and rents at JafzaOne are expected to be lower.

“The Galleries is leasing up quite well these days after a slow start and there will be some tenants who have industrial operations in Jafza and need to be in the area or who see the benefits of locating themselves in the area to get a Jafza freezone license,” said Paula Walshe, associate director for corporate client solutions at Cluttons’ Dubai office.

“However, at the moment it’s quite a hard sell to many corporate clients because it is perceived to be a long way from the centre of Dubai and there is a lack of amenities,” she said. “At the moment they will have to offer something extraordinary like exceptionally good value or it will struggle to lease until the convention centre is up and running.”