Bahrain’s General Organisation of Sea Ports (GOP) on Tuesday announced that it has completed its book building exercise of applications by local companies for tenancy at the Bahrain Logistics Zone (BLZ) and has started evaluating them. 

BLZ is the region’s first boutique logistics zone, and, as part of the Government’s economic strategy of business-friendliness, has been designed to offer a full range of services which are particularly relevant to the logistics activities carried out by its tenants. 

The news comes after the application deadline was extended to accommodate an overwhelming response from these companies.

An evaluation committee will now start studying all applications received to ensure that companies that get selected best fit the criteria designed to maximize the objectives of the zone.

'The process is expected to take one and a half months, at which point companies will be informed in writing whether they have been accepted, waitlisted or rejected,' observed
Hassan Ali Al Majed, GOP director general. 

He said the potential tenants are being carefully chosen based on a rigorous selection procedure the GOP’s strategy and designed by a global management consultancy firm AT Kearney.

“We have already received applications which are far in excess of the number of plots available for lease. But we are not interested merely in filling the space – we want to attract tenants who are the best fit for the BLZ’s excellent offering.  This includes companies of impeccable standing who offer value-adding logistics services and operations,' he explained.

“We are very proud of our selection procedure, and extremely pleased to have demonstrated the great demand in the market for what the Bahrain Logistics Zone has to offer.”

When complete, the BLZ will be fully integrated with Bahrain’s new Khalifa bin Salman port, which will have a capacity of 2.5 million TEUs. 

The Bahrain Logistics Zone is also in close proximity to the causeway linking Bahrain to Saudi Arabia and the proposed causeway to Qatar, as well as to Bahrain International Airport, making it perfectly positioned as a multimodal logistics hub for the region.

Tenants will be able to lease either plots at the site or pre-built serviced warehouses, offices and retail space. 

They also benefit from a range of services designed to provide a one-stop shop for all their setup requirements, including registration, licensing and visa processing.-TradeArabia News Service