A senior official stated on Wednesday that Dubai CommerCity (DCC), the first specialized e-commerce free zone in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia area, is experiencing strong demand for office space with a significant portion already leased up.
“The demand for offices is absolutely amazing. We have leased out 65 percent of the current leasable area, and we see greater demand coming up. The second phase is one of our office buildings, Cluster A, which will bring us a total of six new buildings. The entire project is estimated to be around 12 office buildings in addition to the social cluster, which includes retail area and logistics area,” said Rashed Al Mulla, senior director, of new corporate identity at Dubai CommerCity.
Speaking outside of a press conference to reveal the free zone’s new corporate identity as it changes its strategic focus from e-commerce to digital commerce, Al Mulla was speaking outside the press conference. Together with its strategic partners Emirates NBD bank, Dubai Digital Authority, and Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, it also signed an agreement known as an MoU. (TDRA).
The Wednesday press conference was also attended by Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, executive chairman of DIEZ, and Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, head of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ).
At a cost of Dh3.2 billion, 2.1 million square feet of Dubai CommerCity were constructed to support emerging and established digital commerce businesses in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.
Al Mulla disclosed that 172 businesses had signed up with CommerceCity, 10% of which were multinationals.
“We are finding it very hard to keep up with the demand for the logistics. We are technically now fully sold out in terms of our logistics. However, we are building additional infrastructure in the logistics area. It would be ready by October,” he said.
According to Al Mulla, the free zone also makes the Golden Visa process easier for qualified investors and free zone applicants.
Sheikh Ahmed said: “The strategic transformation we are witnessing today in Dubai CommerCity’s shift towards digital commerce comes in line with the strategic economic directives and plans of Dubai and the UAE.”
“The emirate plays a leading role in shaping and building the future. It has established its position as an innovation hub and a driver for business development, expansion and integration in the global supply chain using future technology. This supports achieving the objectives of the Digital Economy Strategy through enhancing the digital economy’s contribution to the UAE’s GDP for at least the next ten years,” he said.
According to Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, the free zone will have an impact on the businesses’ financial outcomes, operations, and revenues by fostering an environment that encourages innovation, adaptation, and flexibility to boost business growth.
