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The Fujairah Free Zone meets the high expectations of its customers spectacularly.
Be it a new entity or an established one, Fujairah Free Zone (FFZ) has space for them all. FFZ provides its investors with numerous facilities — trading offices, warehouses, open land and customised buildings. It also offers schemes for small time investors, especially in the services sector such as consultants and trading companies who do not mind sharing office space.
Today, with less than $6,350 (about Dh23,300) a small investment can be started with a three-year residential visa, shared desk, licence, company registration and opening a company bank account. "These schemes offer all the secretarial facilities as well. Even our conference halls can be used at short notice. These are small examples of how we make our clients comfortable with us in the long run," says Sharief Habib Al Awadhi, Director General of the Fujairah Free Zone Authority.
Businesses that benefit best from being in the FFZ include those dealing in heavy engineering, light manufacture and others such as trading, services, consulting, assembling, logistic and distribution.
According to Al Awadhi, there are many success stories in FFZ including Omega Industries, Perma Pipe Middle East, Microsol International and Quality Casting. He cites Perma Pipe Middle East as an example and says, "Perma Pipe, which engages in manufacturing, assembling and trading of pre-insulated piping system containment, leak detection/location system, started with 10,000 square metres of space and today it is occupying approximately 30,000 square metres".
Many industries have moved to Fujairah and set up base to take advantage of its competitive steady tariff and infrastructure. Within FFZ, the ongoing rate for land is a minimum of Dh12 per square metre per annum, while it is Dh220 per square metre per annum for a warehouse and includes the built-in office and 15 KVA (Kilo Volt Ampere) power load. The minimum rent for available office spaces is Dh20,000. It takes one working day to register a company and register the licence; however, manufacturing licences are issued a day after getting the environmental clearance.
"The Fujairah Free Zone license is a cost effective licence, plus our paid up capital is low compared to others, which is equal to Dh150,000. An additional reason for investors to move to Fujairah is the low cost of living and the absence of the congestion that prevails in other emirates. It makes sense to live in Fujairah," says Al Awadhi.
The Fujairah Free Zone has a tremendous growth rate due to the high demand for open space and warehouses. However, the authority has over 10,000 square metres of warehousing space and over 2 million square metres of open land to meet the requirements of current and potential investors.
In terms of employment, the zone employs over 7,000 staff from many countries and with expertise in varied fields. Revenue-wise, we have surpassed what we have set as our target.
"In future, we will continue promoting the Fujairah Free Zone for more manufacturing projects and investment as well as an educational zone. In fact we will soon be having tie-ups with Malaysian and Indian universities," says Al Awadhi.
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