HFZA continues to be a strong platform for global investors

The Hamriyah Free Zone Authority (HFZA) has solidified its status as pioneering destination for investors during the last eight months despite COVID-19 challenges.

This role is manifested in enhancing the competitiveness of the companies operating under its umbrella and providing a supportive environment for their business to get through challenges and to ensure business continuity during the recovery period.

The number of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) concluded by HFZA during the current year, which amounted to 6 agreements, confirms the success achieved over the past period. These agreements varied between the expansion of companies headquartered in the region or newly joining companies, reinforcing Sharjah’s position as a destination for foreign investments.

In an exclusive report for Emirates News Agency, WAM, the Sharjah-based free zone had outlined the following major investments during the previous eight months.

With an investment value of Dhs150 million, the Arab India Spices company, last March, joined Sharjah Food Park of HFZA.

The company’s investment included 12 silos “warehouses” for storing grain with a capacity of 52,000 metric tons, built on an area of 300,000 square feet, making it the first such project in the Middle East and North Africa region, where grain store accommodates the quantity covering the UAE‘s consumption needs from beans and lentils for 6 months.

In July, the “ Green Petrochem” petrochemical products company, headquartered in HFZA, doubled its current storage capacity, with a total of new plots of land estimated at 200,000 square feet. Currently, the company has a production capacity of 800 metric tons per day of various petroleum products, and it operates with a total refining capacity of 2.1 million barrels per year, while its products include “naphtha, kerosene, gas oil, and fuel oil”, solvents products such as “hydrocarbons” aliphatic, white spirit, mineral oil, and other petroleum products.

In August, the Orient Source HK Limited, a global group of companies specializing in trade, finance, ship repair, and logistics, announced the opening of the first multi-functional maritime commercial facility on a total area of 247,570 square feet at HFZA. The company is specializing in the Oil, Gas, and Marine Sector as well as conducting and managing a boutique Petroleum Trading Platform for all majors and also undertake Infra & Energy Projects within the UAE and other GCC Countries.

In the same month, the Italian Dairy Products factory, headquartered at Food Park Complex, revealed that it has doubled up the total size of its factory to 26,000 square-foot, making it one of the largest Italian dairy factories across the UAE. The factory consumes some 4,800 tons of milk annually to produce about 500 tons of fresh Italian cheese such as mozzarella, burrata and scamorza, and ricotta.

In September, HFZA has inked a partnership with “Lamprell”, a leading provider of engineering, manufacturing, and contracting services for the oil and gas industries, to lease new plots of land with an estimated area of 1.36 million square feet. The company, which, is listed on the London Stock Exchange, has more than 40 years of experience in engineering and industrial projects about the oil and gas sector.

Recently, Alucor, an innovative international engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with HFZA to lease 555,418 sq ft of the inner harbour quayside land inside the zone to expand its operations and businesses in the region.

Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, Director of Hamriyah Free Zone Authority, said, “The region’s success in attracting companies and investments estimated at 2,690,000 square feet is a great motive for us to define future goals and shape long-term policies and approaches that focus on enhancing the flexibility of our operations and their adaptability. Thus, HFZA will remain a catalyst for economic growth and a crucial element in the economic openness that helps attracts capital to Sharjah and solidifies its position as a favoured global destination for investment and business establishment.”

He added, “Since the outbreak of COVID-19, our priorities have been to enhance the competitiveness of our operating companies. This stems from our strong ties with these companies and as part of our mission and our efforts to provide an incubating environment for their business. In addition, we, at HFZA, are committed to implementing the directives of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, by providing the best services and benefits to investors and creating a perfect business environment that helps them achieve their goals and enhances their competitiveness and their ability to grow and develop.

WAM