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ABU DHABI / WAM
AD Ports Group, the leading facilitator of trade, logistics, and industry, has unveiled “KEZAD Group†as part of the plan to consolidate and grow its Economic Cities and Free Zones offering.
The move follows the integration of Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) and Specialised Economic Zones (ZonesCorp) into the newly formed KEZAD Group (Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi Group), which comprises 12 economic zones with a total area of 550 square kilometres, including 100 square kilometres designated as Free Zones.
It has more than 300,000 square metres of prebuilt warehouse facilities. It is home to more than 40 staff accommodation complexes with more than 450,000 beds (located in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra Region), including the 77,000 beds operated by KEZAD Group.
KEZAD Group hosts more than 1,750 clients from 17 industrial and economic sectors catering to a range of key industries such as pharmaceuticals, metals, automotive, polymers, building materials recycling, food and agtech, plastics and polymers, retail and logistics, hi-tech and green energy, life sciences, oil and gas, and specialty chemicals, each offering direct access to all industry and economic verticals from processing and storage to distribution.
Established to align with the UAE’s Industrial Strategy, the economic vision of Abu Dhabi and the recently launched Abu Dhabi Industrial Strategy, KEZAD Group is designed to offer greater opportunities for investors looking to streamline every segment of their supply chain. Combining the portfolio’s assets will drive higher investments and develop a more robust portfolio of products and services for businesses and investors at the local, regional, and international levels.
It will leverage the collective strength of a combined organisation to enable expanded competitive choice of locations, greater pricing options, quality of infrastructure, ease of doing business and integrated services through unified processes, superior service delivery, and focused offerings for customers.
KEZAD Group will be solely responsible for managing the process of planning, developing, operating, regulating, and promoting combined assets (KIZAD, ZonesCorp and KIZAD Communities) under the AD Ports Group’s Economic Cities and Free Zones portfolio, which makes up 55 percent of the UAE’s industrial area.
The launch of KEZAD Group opens new opportunities to scale up adjacent businesses, such as KEZAD Communities, which provides integrated solutions for staff residential communities and enables the Group to unlock the value of its significant land bank. In addition, KEZAD Group will invest in dedicated infrastructure for key industrial sectors to enhance the ecosystem and create multiple new revenue streams, such as enhanced gas networks for metal and other heavy industries, and wholesale marketplaces for food and automotives.
The forward-looking strategy looks to drive the enhancement and development of the industrial and overall business ecosystem in Abu Dhabi in line with AD Ports Group’s integrated model for one-stop economic hubs that provide seamless operations and efficient cross-market trade solutions for businesses via the emirate.
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO, AD Ports Group, said, “Under the guidance of our wise leadership, AD Ports Group is committed to strengthening the foundations of the UAE’s manufacturing and industrial sectors, recognising the significant economic and national benefits that such development will bring. The launch of KEZAD Group, which brings together our Economic Cities and Free Zones assets, supports the expansion of dedicated ecosystems for strategic industries, boosting access to international markets, integrating advanced technologies, and accelerating the transition to a circular economy.
“From a business perspective, Economic Cities and Free Zones provides AD Ports Group with revenue generated by long-term contracts, and stimulates further growth across our other operations, as clients deploy our logistics, ports and digital services.”
Abdullah Al Hameli, CEO of Economic Cities and Free Zones, AD Ports Group, stated, “We are proud to launch KEZAD Group under our Economic Cities and Free Zones portfolio, bringing together the entire scope of services and ecosystems that businesses require to thrive in today’s competitive market.
“KEZAD Group will leverage synergies across its combined assets and utilise our collaborative expertise to fully support the priority industrial sectors identified by our wise leadership in the Abu Dhabi Industrial Strategy. We see major opportunities for growth as we scale up adjacent businesses to better support our clients.”
Mohamed Al Khadar Al Ahmad, CEO, KEZAD GROUP, commented, “KEZAD Group is now responsible for the largest integrated trade, logistics and industrial hub in the region. It is the largest operator of purpose-built economic zones and workers’ residential cities in the UAE. We will deploy this enhanced scale to fully support strategic industries and enable sustainable diversification and growth.”