An agreement to jointly construct a new ‘Traders Market’ at DP World’s flagship Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone in Dubai on a total built up area of three million square metres has been signed between the port-operating giant and the Zhejiang China Commodities City Group, providing further impetus to China’s Belt & Road Initiative.

 

DP World will be building the ‘Traders Market’ within the Jebel Ali Free Zone Area – located in Jafza South next to the Dubai Expo 2020 site. The market will include clusters of traders from all over the world, offering a wide range of products at one site. They will be divided by sector, ranging from household goods, building materials and food & beverage, to cosmetics & healthcare, energy & power, and engineering & technology. 

 

Widening market reach of goods

 

Aside from promoting the Chinese government’s much vaunted Belt & Road Initiative, the Traders Market will help 

Chinese, local and international manufacturers benefit from Dubai’s strategic location as a business and trade hub. It will also enable trade within the GCC, MEA and Indian Subcontinent region, widening the market reach for goods and serving as a platform to trade at competitive prices.

 

The partnership complements an agreement that was signed earlier this year between DP World and the Zhejiang Seaport Investment and Operation Group (ZPG) for a ‘Straight-through Warehouse’ project in Yiwu, China – the world's largest wholesale market for small commodities – for a warehouse that will hold cargo destined for Dubai and the Middle East.

 

A boost to UAE–China trade

 

Both projects aim to boost trade between the UAE and China by offering Chinese businesses DP World’s integrated logistics and trading solutions, including cargo handling at their terminals in China and Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, warehousing facilities inthe neighbouring Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), one-stop customs clearance facilities and trade licenses. 

 

DP World Group Chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said: “Dubai and China have a long-standing trading history and it’s essential that we develop the movement of goods in tandem with the growing needs of consumers. Today, people expect to receive their products quickly and efficiently and initiatives such as these will create the trade hubs and seamless supply chain opportunities needed to capitalise on global economic growth. 

 

“The new ‘Traders Market’ will provide an ideal platform for traders to showcase and sell goods in Dubai to local and international businesses. We look forward to working with the Zhejiang China Commodities City Group and will continue to support China's Belt & Road Initiative and innovate for mutually beneficial development.”

 

China was Dubai’s number one trading partner in 2017, with total trade between the two parties last year amounting to AED 176.5 billion (US$48.1bn).