Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, on Tuesday announced the second phase of the Dubai International Financial Centre expansion project.
At a cost of Dh100 billion ($27.22 billion), the site, known as Zabeel District, will accommodate 125,000 professionals across more than 1.5 square kilometres of floor place when completed, Sheikh Mohammed said. Its success will contribute to the goal of putting the emirate among the world’s top four financial centres, he added.
“Today, we launched the second phase of the Dubai International Financial Centre – Za'abeel District – to accommodate 125,000 professionals across 17 million square feet of floor space, with a total value of Dh100 billion to achieve our goal of being among the world's top four financial centres,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote on X.
“The new project will include an expansion of the Financial Centre Academy to accommodate 50,000 students annually and an innovation centre for the digital economy spanning one million square feet, housing 6,000 companies and 30,000 AI specialists. In addition to the launch of a centre for arts and culture, a convention centre, and world-class technological infrastructure to support financial companies.”
A ceremony held on the site, adjacent to the existing DIFC Gate District, marked the public launch of the DIFC Zabeel District development.
Fiscal hub
DIFC was established in 2004 and has become a centre for global financial institutions. It welcomed 1,081 companies in the first half of 2025, up by nearly a third on an annual basis.
That brought the DIFC's total active registered companies to 7,700, which is a 25 per cent rise compared with the previous year. The centre's workforce climbed by 9 per cent to 47,901.
Among the new companies were ABK Capital, Avaloq, Baron Capital, Bluecrest Capital, Bridge Investment Group, Cambridge Associates, China International Capital Corporation, dLocal, Manulife, National Bank of Kuwait, Pearl Diver Capital, Pimco, RV Capital, Silver Point Capital, Tourmaline, TransAmerica Life Bermuda and Welwing Capital Management.
