As the oil-rich Gulf ports realize the danger of their asymmetric dependence on oil and gas, whose reserves are rapidly depleting, they are increasingly diversifying their economies and turning to other forms of revenue-generating sectors. Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, is aggressively marketing its ports and the industrial zone set up near the ports. At the recent Hannover Industriemesse, the world’s biggest trade fair for manufacturing and technology, the emirate’s Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) was aggressively courting German and international companies to set up operations at its site equipped with huge logistics network and other facilities. Khaled Salmeen Al-Kawari, the executive vice president for industrial zones at the Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC), charged with Kizad’s development, was bullish about the industrial zone with its dedicated Khalifa Port which is being built in phases and will be the “region’s first semi-automated port”, according to Al-Kawari.
Khaled Salmeen Al-Kawari – Executive VP for Industrial Zones at the ADPC
“More than 92 percent of Kizad’s infrastructure is complete. We are far ahead of our original schedule. We are targeting heavy to low industries. Being just 25 kilometres away from Abu Dhabi airport, and in the proximity of Khalifa Port, which is 97 percent complete, Kizad will offer some excellent advantages for shippers and others as far as transportation of goods is concerned,” Al-Kawari said in an interview with the American Journal of Transportation in Hannover. Al-Kawari said that an investment of US$ 7.2 billion had been allocated for the new infrastructure. “Besides offering a viable and state-of-the-art infrastructure, Kizad offers electricity at very low rates that make a company’s operations here very competitive indeed. We have already signed 30 agreements with companies that are going to operate here,” he disclosed. The Abu Dhabi government is pursuing its so-called “2030 Vision” seeking to quadruple Abu Dhabi’s GDP from US$ 108 billion in 2008 to US$ 416 billion in 2030 at an annual 7 percent growth rate. “In 2008, 60 percent of Abu Dhabi’s revenue was generated by oil and gas, while the remaining 40 percent from non-oil and gas. By 2030, we want to reverse this ratio,” Al-Kawari said. Under the “2030 Vision”, major industry clusters such as aluminium, steel, engineered metal products, petrochemicals and chemicals, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, food processing, paper, printing and packaging, trade and logistics, and mixed/or other industries, will be promoted for the Kizad site. Al-Kawari described the UAE as “the hub” of the Gulf. “We have JAFZA (Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai) transportation route. We have increased our business in the cruise business, and have also developed our berth facilities nearby. Zaid Port, in close proximity, will be the hub. This port has developed along with very modern lines. The port, 16 ½ metres deep, is considered to be the most automated container port in the region. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is jointly building a rail network. The Etihad rail is responsible for the development and operation of the international network of railway. Phase 1 has already been awarded for construction. The engineering for phase 2 is underway. Phase 3 will link the rest of Northern Emirates with the completion of the rail in 2015,” he maintained. The number of containers handled by Mina Zayed port in 2011 rose to 767,713 TEUs, posting a 47% increase over the previous year. According to Abu Dhabi representatives at Hannover, Mina Zayed Port had more than tripled its container volume from 250,000 TEUs in 2006 to more than 767,000 TEUs in 2011. Al-Kawari pointed out that Abu Dhabi’s central location would allow Kizad-based companies to access a market of more than two billion consumers within four time zones. Europe, Russia, India and Africa, were easily acc