Dubai Food Park inks AED1.35 billion investment agreement

Dubai Food Park, DFP, the region’s largest specialised zone dedicated to serving the rapidly growing food sector, signed an AED1.35 billion investment agreement with Ningxia Forward Fund Management Company today to build a world-class China-UAE Food Industrial cluster in Dubai.

The strategic agreement will consolidate China’s stake in the burgeoning Middle East food industry and expand bilateral relations further.

The agreement was signed by Abdulla Belhoul, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Wholesale City, and a representative from Ningxia Forward Fund Management Company, on the sidelines of the third edition of the China–Arab States Expo in China’s northwest autonomous region Ningxia’s capital Yinchuan.

Spread over an area of 4.38 million square feet, the China-UAE Food Industrial cluster will be home to 30 food plants, including two Chinese catering companies and two advanced manufacturing plants for food packaging materials. The project is scheduled to be completed 24 months after it starts construction.

The project will have six major components: Meals processing, packaged food processing, cold chain storage, production of food packages, e-commerce and commodities exhibition, and bio-safety disposal of waste water and wastes. Food processing will be the plant’s main operation. At least 75 percent of the total project area will be allocated for factories, 17 percent for warehouses and 8 percent will be divided between offices and other facilities.

Abdulla Al Habbai, Chairman of Dubai Holding, said, "Since the establishment of the UAE federation, our wise leadership has worked relentlessly to foster cordial relations with the regional and international community. The partnership between Dubai Food Park and China’s Ningxia Forward Fund Management Company reflects the global interest in entering Dubai, and the UAE markets will benefit from the country’s world-class ground, marine and aerial infrastructure, as well as its strategic location at the crossroads between East and West. Through this new synergy, we aspire to cement long-standing relations with China to ensure sustainable development of both our countries."

Abdullah Belhoul, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Wholesale City, said, "This agreement comes at an important time, given the urgent global need to enhance collaboration on food security by increasing the physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. The partnership marks a step forward in strengthening bilateral relations at various levels, particularly trade and economic relations between the UAE and China.

"In line with the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030, once complete, the China-UAE Food Industrial cluster will include a globally important, modern, low-carbon, and digital food processing and trading center in the Middle East that will integrate the processing of meals, the processing of packaged food, cold chain storage, production of food packages, e-commerce and commodities exhibition, bio-safety disposal of waste water and solid waste."

Belhoul stressed that the Dubai Food Park would continue to enter into strategic partnerships that would contribute to the diversification of the national economy and offer greater investment opportunities while ensuring sustainable economic development. He added that these opportunities would enhance the UAE’s global competitiveness, as well as its status as a capital for the halal industry.

A spokesperson from Ningxia Forward Fund Management Company, noted, "This agreement will boost China’s economic synergies with the UAE, which is already our leading trade partner in the region. Such agreements will help us meet the objectives of China’s Belt and Road initiative, and create large-scale employment opportunities and trade benefits for the world’s nations."

China's non-financial foreign investment increased by 352 percent in the first nine months of 2017, compared with the same period last year. The number of Chinese companies registered with the UAE Ministry of Economy has also exceeded 4,000 in 2017.

Dubai Holding launched Dubai Food Park in July 2017 in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.