Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) has announced the signing of a 50 year land-lease agreement with Gulf Printing and Packaging Company, a new subsidiary of top printing materials firm in Kuwait, Al Khat Packaging.

Al Khat Packaging Company is the only approved provider of packaging materials for McDonalds in the entire Middle East.

The Kuwait-based company plans to set up its Dh80 million ($21 million) facility which is expected to commence operations in 2016. It will be Al Khat’s first production plant outside of Kuwait.

Located in Kizad’s “Mixed Use” cluster, the plant will cover a 237,516 sq ft plot of land and produce folding paper packaging and printing products, especially for the UAE, Saudi Arabian and South African markets.

By signing the agreement, the Kuwaiti firm is further expanding its manufacturing capacity and is set to meet the requirements of various supply contracts covering the region.  

Kizad CEO Khaled Salmeen attended the signing ceremony along with senior members from Al Khat Packaging including general manager Mohamed Abou Khalid, deputy general manager Samer Hassan and financial and administration manager Emad Farouk Mohamed.

“Gulf Printing and Packaging will considerably add to Kizad’s industrial landscape which offers advanced infrastructure and facilities designed in line with international best practices”, stated Salmeen.

“We are delighted to welcome our Kuwaiti business partners who will significantly benefit from Kizad’s strategic location with market access to 4.5 billion people worldwide, its multimodal transportation network, which includes our flagship deep water Khalifa Port, as well as its business friendly environment and competitive operating costs,” he added.

On Al Khat's selection of Kizad, Salmeen said: “This is another indicator that our efforts to establish the industrial zone regionally and globally have come to fruition. The growing number of foreign investors shows that we are moving in the right direction in diversifying the economy and developing Kizad into one of the world’s largest industrial zones.”

Abou Khalid said the decision to settle in Kizad was the answer to the company's growing international customer base and, consequently, to the increasing demand in its products.

"Our plant in Kizad offers us the opportunity to be closer to our international clients and to serve them more efficiently, especially through Khalifa Port," he noted.

“We follow the BRC Global Standards and have been recognized by the BRC authorities for our quality and food safety for the fourth consecutive year. Kizad’s excellent infrastructure and business environment will help us to maintain our high production standards and further develop our capacities on a global scale,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service