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Cargo facilities at Abu Dhabi International Airport are being developed to support the continued growth in traffic.

With a multi-billion dollar investment to develop its warehousing and transportation parks in the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) is preparing to take the logistics industry by storm.

Although the development of logistics parks in the United Arab Emirates has traditionally focused on Dubai, a string of multi-billion dollar projects have recently been launched in other parts of the country. Leading the revolution has been Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), a regional powerhouse in the aviation sector with management responsibility for the airports in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

The centrepiece of ADAC's US$6.8 billion development strategy is Abu Dhabi Airport Business Park, which is being constructed on 12 square kilometres of land and will include around 2 square kilometres of space for a warehousing and transportation complex. The project has received a considerable amount of interest from the logistics sector, especially from freight forwarders, importers, exporters and MRO specialists - proving that demand for such developments outside of Dubai is plentiful.

"Abu Dhabi Logistics Park will offer a wide range of facilities, from light industrial units in a variety of designs to commercial offices and plots of land for tailored developments," explains His Excellency Khalifa Mohamed Al Mazrouei, chairman of ADAC.

"The project is being developed in two phases, which means we can make improvements to the masterplan in line with investor requirements. Construction of phase one has already commenced and should be completed in 2010. The development of phase two is scheduled for 2011 and will be completed in 2015," he adds.

Since expectations have already been exceeded in terms of demand, ADAC has opened an investor centre for the logistics park, which Al Mazrouei has described as a ‘one stop shop' for region and international companies that want to establish their operations in the development.

"This will alleviate avoid the need for investors to visit different government entities for their documentation and paperwork, and will provide an easy and convenient set up process," he states. "The centre will enable a unified interface for all business services, including assistance with business registration, sponsorship and licensing."

Understanding the need to simplify the various procedures for potential tenants, ADAC has been working in close partnership with government bodies such as the Department of Economic Development, Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce, Ministry of Labour, Immigration Department and Abu Dhabi Customs, which have all collaborated to ensure the services centre has the relevant infrastructure in place to support investors.

"The results from our cooperation with government entities will have many benefits for tenants," says Al Mazrouei. "For example, we recently signed an agreement with the Department of Economic Development to streamline systems and data sharing, which will also greatly increase the speed of licences being issued. Similarly, Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce has installed its integrated system at ADAC's premises to ensure an immediate manifesting and processing of requests."

The logistics park is a central component in a large-scale development plan for Abu Dhabi International Airport, which has been designed to increase the overall capacity to more than 20 million passengers per year. This includes the construction of a second runway and third terminal, which have been completed, together with a midfield terminal complex and air control tower (ATC), which will be operational in the next few years. Of course, with growing volumes of cargo being handled at the airport, its airfreight facilities will also receive an industrial makeover.

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