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ABU DHABI / AGENCIES
Abu Dhabi-listed Aldar Properties won a contract on Monday to build a new site for the twofour54 free trade zone that hosts media firms.
Aldar, the state-linked construction firm that built Abu Dhabi’s
Formula One circuit, was awarded the build-operate-transfer contract for the new site by the government-owned Media Zone Authority-
Abu Dhabi, twofour54 said in a statement.
The United Arab Emirates has built free trade zones across the country, offering foreign firms 100 percent ownership and repatriation of profits. Outside these zones, firms in the UAE usually need to be at least 51 percent owned by UAE nationals.
The twofour54 free zone for media firms, now based in Abu Dhabi city, will move to nearby Yas Island where the Formula One circuit is located. Companies that are already set up in the free zone include CNN and Sky News Arabia.
The first phase of building the free trade zone is valued at 1 billion dirhams ($272 million), the statement said. The initial gross floor area would be 95,000 square metres and would expand over time to 300,000 square metres, it said.
Dubai, another of the seven emirates making up the UAE, has developed specialised free trade zones for various industries, ranging from media to health.
The master development is set to attract more than 15,000 new residents to Yas Island. As one of the Middle East’s most exciting destinations, Yas Island’s appeal continues to grow. Having welcomed 27 million visitors from the UAE and abroad in 2016, the island aims to take its annual visitor tally to 30 million in 2018, and 48 million by 2022. It is home to the Yas Marina Circuit, where the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix is held every year, in addition to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld, Yas Mall, and Yas Links Golf & Country Club. It will also welcome the Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi theme park in 2018, as well as SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, a first-of-its-kind marine life theme park, in 2022.
Alongside its seven hotels on Yas Island, Aldar currently has more than 3,500 homes under development including West Yas, Mayan, Yas Acres and Ansam, with Ansam due for handover later this year. With the welcome addition of twofour54, Yas Island is set to become the preferred destination of choice for Abu Dhabi residents.
Since its inception in 2008, twofour54 has established Abu Dhabi as a leading, regional creative hub and as a destination that
attracts international media companies, content providers and
technologies.
Today, twofour54 hosts over 450 media companies, including Sky News Arabia, Image Nation, Ubisoft, CNN, Fox, Flash Entertainment, M&C Saatchi, Flat6Labs and more, and employs nearly 4,000 talented professionals.
The move will increase twofour54’s capacity by 25 per cent, which will help it expand, evolve, and continue attracting the world’s most innovative and cutting-edge companies as partners.