KEZAD lists three license types: industrial, trading (or general trading) and service. An industrial license covers importing raw materials, manufacturing, processing, assembling and packaging; a trading license covers import, export, distribution, stocking and warehousing; and a service license covers activities such as consulting, marketing, freight forwarding, food outlets and travel agencies. KEZAD says a general trading license is issued when the products exceed 17 or the product groups exceed three.
KEZAD's regulations page publishes the ADFZ Business Licensing Regulations (December 2011), issued by Abu Dhabi Ports Company PJSC (ADPC), which define industrial, trading and service licenses for designated free zone areas. The dual license for free zone companies comes from the Department of Economic Development, Abu Dhabi. KEZAD's own pages do not name the licensing body for its Domestic Economic Zone, so we confirm it for your activity before you apply.
- Industrial license: raw material import, manufacturing, processing, assembling and packaging
- Trading or general trading license: import, export, distribution, stocking and warehousing
- Service license: consulting, marketing, logistics support, food outlets and similar listed services
- Legal types on KEZAD's checklists: limited liability company (individual or corporate shareholders) and branch
KEZAD's facilities run from serviced land plots on long-term lease to pre-built warehouses, light industrial units and build-to-suit space for lease or sale. KEZAD Group says its pre-built warehouses range from 300 m² to 50,000 m² under one roof, and that its land has on-site power, clean water and piped gas.
Pre-built units sit in KEZAD Logistics Park (KLP) sites in Al Ma'mourah, Al Ain and Musaffah, and KEZAD lists its light industrial units under the mainland Domestic Economic Zone. For smaller teams, its free zone startup offer includes shared workstations or dedicated offices, with packages listed from one to four visas.
- Warehouse units with raised 1.3-metre loading docks and mezzanine offices
- Temperature-controlled units at KLP21, designed for food and pharmaceutical businesses
- Light industrial units for assembly, production or storage
- Warehouse units can be bought or leased, according to KEZAD
KEZAD organises its offer around seven focus sectors, several with their own dedicated zone or park. It describes a dedicated automotive zone, a food processing zone, life science facilities, a metals zone covering upstream to downstream activity, a custom-built Polymers Park and a speciality chemicals offer, with KEZAD Logistics Park serving storage and distribution.
The Khalifa Port connection is physical as well as commercial. KEZAD says its serviced land has internal roads with direct access to and from the port, its sector pages mention access to regional raw material producers through Khalifa Port, and its zones combine road, port, air and national rail links. We check how your goods will move between the port and your unit before you lease space.
Your KEZAD jurisdiction decides how you sell locally. KEZAD lists local sales for free zone companies through distributors, local agents or a dual license, and says free zone companies can obtain an additional license from the Department of Economic Development, Abu Dhabi, to work outside the free zone without extra offices or facilities.
Domestic Economic Zone companies have direct local sales and access to UAE and GCC markets, and KEZAD says goods made there can be certified 'Made in UAE' by the relevant authorities. KEZAD shows up to 100% foreign ownership in over 1,100 mainland activities, so we check whether yours is one of them before you choose.
All three are port-linked industrial and logistics zones; the differences are the emirate, the operator and the setup options. KEZAD sits next to Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi as part of AD Ports Group, Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) is DP World's flagship free zone near Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, and Hamriyah Free Zone in Sharjah states it has access to a port with 14-metre deep water and a 7-metre inner harbour.
- KEZAD: free zone and mainland (Domestic Economic Zone) options, industrial, trading and service licenses, land, warehouses and light industrial units
- JAFZA: describes itself as the largest customs bonded zone in the Middle East, with trading, service, industrial and logistics licenses
- Hamriyah Free Zone: set up in 1995 by Emiri Decree in Sharjah, with trading, industrial and service licenses and 30 million sqm of industrial land
- All three offer land and pre-built warehouses, so the deciding factors are usually your port, your market and whether you need a mainland option
Headline offers rarely tell the whole story. We answer these for your activity before you decide.
- Is your exact activity on KEZAD's official list, or only something close to it?
- Does the activity need approval from another regulator first?
- Which workspace options are available, and how many visas does each allow?
- What does renewal involve each year, and which costs recur?
- Will most of your customers be in the zone, abroad or on the mainland?
