Dubai World Central steps up release of office space for start-ups

Dubai World Central (DWC) is releasing more office space targeted at start-up companies in the free zone.

About 200,000 square metres of space has already been let this year in the business park and the latest units will be aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises, the company said. It did not disclose how much new space would be available to rent.

About 1,000 companies are registered at the DWC business park, including Nestlé and Sinopec Petroleum. Property brokers say its location close to the site of the World Expo 2020 has spurred demand even as the broader office market in the city continues to suffer from oversupply in many locations.

Improving air and sea-based logistics infrastructure in Dubai is boosting demand for industrial property as the expansion of Jebel Ali Port and rising cargo volumes through both of the city’s airports draw in more import and export-focused companies.

The Dubai World Central district, which it describes as an “aerotropolis”, could account for as much as 60 per cent of the emirate’s GDP by 2023, the free zone estimates.

Occupier demand for space around the new airport has been increasing this year, according to Cluttons International Research.

“As occupier demand levels rise in submarkets around DWC, we anticipate the expansion of free zones where possible and an increased amount of speculative warehouse development, particularly as these areas approach saturation,” Faisal Durrani, a business development manager at Cluttons, wrote in a report.

Free zones across Dubai are competing to attract companies drawn by the city’s economic rebound.

DWC claims that it takes 10 days to establish a company in the free zone. The newly released space is due to be ready to occupy by November.

scronin@thenational.ae