Dubai South to invest 1b in logistics sector to develop key facilities and infrastructure
Dubai South will invest Dh1 billion in the development of facilities and infrastructure with key focus on logistics sector in the next few years, said its executive chairman.
Khalifa Al Zaffin said logistics sector in Dubai South is seeing double-digit growth year-on-year and its proximity to Expo 2020 site will greatly benefit both the projects.
“We will be easily talking about Dh1 billion investment from Dubai South in facilities and infrastructure in the next 2-3 years,” he said, adding that work is going on at Al Maktoum Airport every fast and it is ahead of time.
Al Zaffin was speaking after the opening of new cargo terminal by RSA National, a joint venture between US-based National and the UAE-based RSA Global, at Dubai World Central in Dubai South.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports; President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group, and Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, attended the opening ceremony. “We have witnessed impressive freight growth at DWC since it first opened in 2010. The airport has quickly ascended the global rankings for international freight volumes and is now ranked in the top 20. We have achieved this by developing and implementing leading-edge customer centric processes, technology and infrastructure,” said Griffiths. He also said Al Maktoum airport is seeing more flights from Russian airlines. However some of the operations of Emirates airline and flydubai will be shifted towards Al Maktoum airport during the runway refurbishment next year.
Spread over 13,000sqm of area, Abhishek Ajay Shah, co-founder and Group CEO of RSA Global, said the company has invested Dh50 million in the first phase in the newly-opened facility. The second phase will see an additional 18,000 sqm expansion with much more higher investment in line with the growth of logistics and aviation sector in Dubai. The company currently operates 25 facilities in three countries – UAE, India and Kenya. “We are looking at growing extensively at China, Hong Kong, Saudi Arbaia and Egypt. We will follow sustainable model of similar set up with end-to-end services,” Shah said.
Jacob Matthew, President – ME and Pac Rim and Board Member, National said completion of the first phase of the first commercial cargo terminal at Dubai World Central is an important step in the context of the UAE aviation industry, a vital driving force of the country’s economic diversification plan.
“Non-oil sectors such as manufacturing, aviation and logistics are important contributors to the GDP with a contribution expected to account for nearly 90 per cent of the economy by 2025. The cargo industry itself is witnessing major developments and recently recorded robust growth. Innovation in the transport industry is important, and as logistics providers with our own aircraft fleet, we constantly strive to improve efficiency around the movement of goods and also customer service,” Matthew added.
