OBG talks to Khaled Salmeen, CEO and Managing Director, Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad)

Interview: Khaled Salmeen

What is being done to attract greater levels of investment toward not only metals but diversified industries, such as petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and food processing?

KHALED SALMEEN: At Kizad we take great care in catering to all the clusters within our industrial zone. No one cluster has more importance than another, and as a result our marketing and business development teams have opted for a focused approach when pursuing prospective investors in all clusters. This could be through strategic events, one-to-one meetings, targeted advertising or selective public relations. Within Kizad, continuous research tells us that the main requirement investors have is a solid infrastructure that enables their businesses to have access to global, regional and local markets, and this is one of the definitive unique selling points we offer, alongside the ease of doing business and low operating cost environment. In the past year, for example, we have seen a variety of industries setting up in Kizad, including KSB, the German pump manufacturer; BRF, the largest South American food processing organisation in the world; and Polysys or PAT ME, as they are called, which produces polymer stabilisers. So we are already attracting large investors from diversified industries, and we plan to build on this success to attract more in the coming years.

How is transportation being developed to enhance access to global and regional markets?

SALMEEN: The advanced transportation network at Kizad, as it stands today, caters to all methods of modern transport and logistics. It gives easy access to local, regional and global markets via its unique location mid-way between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It also provides our investors with easy access to over 4.5bn consumers within four time zones. To give more of a breakdown on each of the transportation networks available, I can tell you that by sea, Kizad is immediately adjacent to the first and only semi-automated deepwater sea port in the Middle East, Khalifa Port, giving tenants direct access to international waterways. By road, individual Kizad plots are connected to a sophisticated highway network, which starts with excellent internal roads and includes innovations that Kizad has put into place, such as the Modular Path, designed for oversized equipment. The highway network also links tenants with all other countries in the Arabian Gulf.

In terms of rail, Kizad is the first in the region designed with dedicated rail facilities and, in partnership with Etihad Rail, Kizad offers investors the opportunity to integrate rail freight facilities into their own operations. We are also within 40 minutes’ drive of major international airports. All of these factors indicate that Kizad is providing its investors with an advanced transportation network, and that it is committed to continuously providing them with unhindered access to global and regional markets.

What is currently being done to improve cross-fertilisation between small and medium-sized enterprises and anchor tenants to support the development of downstream industries?

SALMEEN: Vertically integrated clustering is at the heart of the Kizad master plan, encouraging anchor tenants to feed into mid- and downstream producers. The value given to investors through vertically integrating the supply chain among upstream, midstream and downstream producers is outstanding. An example would be Kizad’s aluminium anchor tenant. EMAL conveys aluminium to midstream manufacturers in hot molten form, via an innovative development we call the hot metal road. Midstream industries – like TALEX, which produces spare parts for the automotive industry – use the molten metal directly in their processes, saving substantial energy and cost. This process creates economies of proximity by integrating the manufacturing supply chain, creating synergies, and improving productivity and efficiency.