Hamriyah Free Zone Authority launches 'Sharjah Food Park'

Hamriyah Free Zone Authority launched its flagship project “Sharjah Food Park”, the region’s first and largest city dedicated to food & commercial industries, comprising of warehouses, offices and labour accommodations on a total area of over 11 million square feet. 
     
The authority announced that its new world class facility is dedicated to importing, exporting, holding and re-packaging foodstuff destined for not only the GCC region but all over the world. 
 
The announcement was made in a press conference held at Dubai World Trade Centre on Thursday, in the presence of HE Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, Director of Hamriyah Free Zone Authority and Sharjah Airport International Free Zone.
 
HE Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, Director of Hamriyah Free Zone Authority and Sharjah Airport International Free Zone extended his heartfelt thanks and appreciation to His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah for his directives and support and to His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, for his continuous follow up to ensure this vital project will be a success.
 

He explained that this mega project is part of the authority’s endeavour and commitment to develop its services. “Such ambitious plans are in line with the Economic Vision of Sharjah under the prudent leadership of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah and with the follow up of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah.
 

Al Mazrouei said that the Sharjah Food Park will be the first of its kind food industry complex in terms of its nature and size and is expected to have a great contribution to the GDP in the future, by attracting more foreign investors to the Emirate of Sharjah and encouraging business community to expand their existing projects to enjoy more rewarding returns.
 
Al Mazrouei added that Food Park will benefit from the reputation of the UAE as a business and tourist hubs of the world, its diversified economy which is the 2nd largest in the GCC region, its outstanding infrastructure and high tourist influx.
 
At the local level, Al Mazrouei said that Food Park will be an added value to the Emirate, which is already the 11th most attractive destination for FDI in the world. The Food Park will benefit from Sharjah’s strategic location as the only Emirate with land access to the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean. Sharjah accounts for 38% of the UAE’s gross industrial output- a fact that is particularly inspiring to food industry investors.
 

Al Mazrouei clarified that Food Park provides different sizes of offices, warehouses with built-in offices, utility and facilities; plots of land starting from 2,500 square meters onwards; in addition to licenses and activities related to the food industry; labour accommodation for over 26,000 workers, and many more value added services provided by the HFZA’s food section which will act as medium between Investor and Food Regulatory Authorities of UAE.
 
“There are 136 different warehouses in which the floors have all been epoxy coated according to regulations. The size of the warehouse space (cold and/or perishable) ranges from 400 square meters upwards, tailored to the customer’s needs. They have been built in a well-designed and easy to use facility, easily accessible by trucks, planes or boats.”
 
Al Mazrouei continued: “HFZA is uniquely different in that they have “value added” services for food companies, such as facilitating the issuance of export health certificates, NOC’s, official approvals, training and certification, consultancy, food testing services.

Ali Al Jarwan, Deputy Commercial OfficerinHamriyah Free Zone Authority, highlighted the features of doing business in Food Park, including the easy procedures. “The period of time that seperates the investorfrom setting up his “dream company” is just one hour. There are three steps, completing the application form at the sales counter, paying the fees and collecting the trade license. Licenses can be for commercial, industrial or service purposes”, he said.
 
Al Jarwan added: “Commercial license can be general trading or specific trading up to five activities, while the industrial license can cover processing, assembly, packaging and manufacturing activities, whereas the service licenses are given for an array of activities and consultancy services”.    
 
He went on to say that the park offers unrivalled advantages such as the 100% foreign ownership; export/ export/ commercial tax exemption; no corporation or income tax; repatriation of capital and profits, renewable 25-year leases and onsite customs.
 
Al Jarwan said that the HFZA will provide committed and dynamic team of food safety experts for guidance and support. They will deliver quality services as per the needs of every food business entity, and will act as an easy and friendly interface with Sharjah Municipality and Government authority for day to day operations. In addition, the team will provide food safety, quality and food security services, training, consultancy, product testing in labs and certification services through the HFZA’s Food Section. 
 
According to AL Jarwan, the Food Park will offer easy access to best practices within industry through engagement with industry experts and regulatory bodies and friendly engagement with food business investors for hassle free business continuity. In addition, there will be coaching and mentoring for 100% compliance. 
 
He said that the phase 3 will have new labour accommodation comprising of 16 buildings. “Food Park includes 30 million square feet of prime industrial and commercial land, including plots facing the sea. Minimum lease period is 5 years and land lease rates are fixed for the first 5 years. Leases can be for up to 25 years and renewable for another 25 years. Plots can be developed up to 60% by investors to suit their requirements. There is ready infrastructure for electricity, water and the IT needs”, he added.
 
“Warehouses range in area from 400 square meters to 600 sqm, and the height is 9 meter. It is flexible to develop factories or warehouses. Infrastructure for electricity, water and the IT needs is ready. Warehouses come with built-in offices. They are suitable for manufacturing, assembling and repackaging. Lease is renewable annually”, he said.

Rental values for warehouses start from AED85,000 ($23,161) for the 276sqm warehouse, to AED135,000 ($36,785) for the 416sqm warehouses and AED170,000 ($46,322) for the 614sqm ones. Warehouses offer variable electricity wattages, tailored to the investor’s needs (50 – 100 – 150 KW)
 
Food Park includes a business centre for over 100 executive suites of 15sqm to 42sqm. Lease is renewable annually. There is ready infrastructure for electricity, water and IT. Offices come with flexible space and equipped with communication and internet facilities. Ample car parking spaces are available in front of the building. There are 5 packages of offices starting from AED11,000 ($2,998) to AED35,000 ($9,537). 
 
Dr. Edward Fadel, General Manager of Trofina, spoke about his experience at Hamriyah Free Zone from an investor perspective. He said: “It was quite easy and quite encouraging for us to set up the manufacturing in the company actually here, and even to further expanding, as they were very fast in allocating additional land for us, which we are very grateful and thankful for, and this allowed us to expand even further and to grow more within the Hamriyah Free Zone”. 
 
The Emirate of Sharjah contributes with over AED100 billion to the UAE’s GDP. A family friendly destination, Sharjah enjoys vibrant communities, rich heritage, affordable living economical energy and sophisticated infrastructure and telecommunications systems. The diverse nature, rich wildlife and striking landscape are among the major reasons for investors to choose Sharjah. Moreover, the cultural capital of the nation is home to the largest number of educational institutions in the country. 
 
Connectivity in Sharjah is another point of attraction, with 86 destinations via Air Arabia, the official carrier of the Emirate in addition to 120 destinations via the other Emirati airlines. Sharjah has many ports and airports such as Hamriya Port, Khalid Port, Khorfakkan Port and Sharjah International Port, and is just near Dubai International Airport.
 
Hamriyah Free Zone Authority is 2nd largest free zone and industrial hub of the UAE. It has unique advantages such as 14 Meter deep port, excellent logistics Facilities and connectivity to major highways. It has a strategic location and is ideal place for large, medium and small industries. 
 
Special facilities and benefits provided to investors include the 100% company ownership, the 100% foreign ownership, exemption from commercial levies, repatriation of capital and profit, no corporation or income tax, no import or export tax and the renewable long term and short term lease options.