Sharjah has announced plans to develop the region’s largest city dedicated to food and commercial industries spread over a total area of more than 11 million sq ft in Hamriyah Free Zone.

A flagship project of Hamriyah Free Zone Authority, "Sharjah Food Park will boast of key amenities such as big warehouses, offices and labour accommodations.

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, reported Wam.

Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, the director of Hamriyah Free Zone Authority and Sharjah Airport International Free Zone said the mega project was part of its endeavour and commitment to develop innovative services.
"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 and encouraging business community to expand their existing projects to enjoy more rewarding returns," he stated.

Ali Al Jarwan, the deputy commercial officer in Hamriyah Free Zone Authority, highlighted the features of doing business in Food Park, including the easy procedures.

"The period of time that separates the investor from 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 was quoted as saying in the Wam report.

"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 added.

The Food Park will boast a business centre for over 100 executive suites of 15 sq m to 42 sq m. 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. Besides the complex will boast ample car parking spaces in front of the building.

There are 5 packages of offices starting from Dh11,000 ($2,998) onwards to Dh35,000 ($9,537), said the Wam report.

Dr Edward Fadel, General Manager of Trofina, spoke about his experience at Hamriyah Free Zone from an investor perspective.

"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," he noted.

Sharjah makes a contribution of over Dh100 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, said the report.

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, stated the report.

Hamriyah Free Zone Authority is second 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 added.