UAE food major starts work on new Abu Dhabi factory

National Food Product Company (NFPC) has announced the launch of construction work at its new 752,000 sq m production facility in Abu Dhabi's Khalifa Industrial Zone (Kizad).

The company is one of the largest food producers in the UAE, known for products such as Oasis, Blu, Milco, Lacnor and Gulf & Safa.

The facility, which will manufacture most of its brands, is expected to start operations in the first quarter of 2018.

The factory will be constructed at Kizad's food cluster where many global and regional food industry clients have already set up their businesses.

The first phase of the NFPC facility with energy and water saving features will comprise of 5-gallon water bottling plant, Milco dairy, Lacnor juice, and Oasis small water bottling plant under one roof.

Additionally, a waste water treatment plant, a 10,000 sq m office building, and a 2,800 sq m central district cooling plant will be constructed as part of phase one of the project.

The second phase of the project will comprise a fully automated packaging factory producing tailored containers for the food industry, a recycling plant to manufacture products using waste materials, and an automated cold store.

Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports, the operator of Kizad, said: "By hosting NFPC as our anchor tenant, Kizad's food cluster will significantly contribute towards the efforts to meet the growing food demand in the GCC, especially in the UAE.

"NFPC's ambitious expansion plans are timely as the food consumption in the GCC is expected to grow at a 3.5 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2014 and 2019 to reach 51.9 million metric tonnes," he said.

NFPC president and CEO Fady Antonios added: "The start of construction of the mega facility at Kizad is a key milestone in developing our operational capabilities to enable a new paradigm of growth for our market leading brands in the food and beverage sector."