China-UAE Industrial Zone ushers in its first operating project

Enterprises enter the demonstration zone to seek high-level development

NANJING — In the Khalifa Industrial Zone in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, a building stands out with a red pattern that resembles a Chinese seal. It is located in a modern new factory with asphalt roads extending in all directions.

The landscape is part of the China-Arab production capacity cooperation demonstration area and a landmark cooperation project between the two countries under the “Belt and Road” initiative.

The demonstration zone has a planned total area of ​​12.2 square kilometers and aims to promote cooperation between the two sides in high-end manufacturing, new energy, fine chemicals, warehousing and logistics, metal processing and other industrial fields. Construction started in May 2018, with an initial area of ​​2.2 square kilometers.

After four years of construction, the park management service center and customized factory buildings have been officially put into use, the living service area has been completed, and the internal road pipe network is 8.5 kilometers. In addition to infrastructure, 80,000 square meters of buildings have been built so far.

Hao Sihuan, deputy general manager of Jiangsu Overseas Cooperation and Investment Company, said that it is expected that by the middle of 2023, all infrastructure projects in the park will be completed. Demonstration Area.

“There are higher requirements in terms of property services, production safety, personnel and goods management in the park. We must improve our comprehensive service capabilities in an all-round way and promote more fruitful production capacity cooperation between the two countries,” said Hao.

The infrastructure has been continuously improved, and the work of attracting investment in the demonstration zone has made great progress. Up to now, 9 Chinese companies have officially signed contracts to settle in, of which 1 has been put into production and 1 is about to be put into production. Already six regional headquarters or trading companies have chosen to do business there.

On October 3, Chaoshi Metal Manufacturing Co., Ltd. held a groundbreaking ceremony and became the first production project in the park.

“The UAE has a superior geographical location and is an important business distribution center. It has a stable society, abundant foreign labor resources, and competitive energy prices and tax policies, which are very in line with the company’s development needs,” said Tang Jianxiong, the project manager of the Chinese company in the area.

“The company sent personnel to inspect the demonstration area in July 2021, and signed the contract in December of that year. The project put into operation can currently produce 3 million non-refillable welded steel cylinders per year,” Tang said.

The company has seen continuous improvement in the operating conditions in the UAE, and Tang is full of confidence in the company’s development prospects in the UAE. “If all goes well over the next two years, we plan to expand our investment to make it a key distribution center for the company’s global footprint.”

Scientific and technological cooperation is an important part of the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” between China and Arab states. The UAE attaches great importance to the introduction of high-tech industries such as aerospace. In recent years, more and more Chinese aerospace high-tech enterprises have set their sights on the UAE market and settled in the demonstration zone.

China Enterprise Origin Space will sign a strategic cooperation agreement with the park in September 2022, and will officially enter the park in December. It will set up subsidiaries, R&D centers and exhibition centers in the park. Currently, the R&D Exhibition Center has entered the construction stage and is expected to be completed in mid-January next year.

“Under the framework of high-level cooperation between the two countries, we are actively striving for the landing of commercial aerospace-related projects,” said Wu Xian, vice president of Yuanyuan Aerospace. “I hope that the company’s business will expand to new space fields, such as new space infrastructure, space tourism, training and popularization of science, and digital economy.”

Hao said that the construction and operation of the demonstration zone will not only help Chinese manufacturing and other advantageous industries to explore the Arab market, but also help the UAE develop new energy, high-end equipment, aerospace and other industries, and accelerate industrial diversification and high-quality development.

Xinhua News Agency