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People search for "Dubai Industrial City free zone" or "Dubai industrial free zone", but Dubai Industrial City is not a free zone. Its own FAQ says the Department of Economic Development (DED), Dubai's mainland licensing authority, registers and licenses companies there. You lease land, a warehouse or an office from Dubai Industrial City and hold a mainland licence, which lets you trade directly across the UAE. If you want free zone terms for manufacturing, compare JAFZA, KEZAD, Hamriyah, SAIF Zone and Dubai South.
Is Dubai Industrial City a free zone?
No. Dubai Industrial City's own FAQ says it is not a free zone, and Dubai's economy department (DED, now DET) licenses the companies there, so you hold a mainland licence. Dubai Industrial City is a TECOM Group district for manufacturing, logistics and warehousing, listed by TECOM since . Three bodies are involved:
| Role | Who does it |
|---|---|
| Business registration and licence | DED, Dubai (mainland) |
| Fit-out and building permits | Dubai Development Authority (DDA) |
| Land, warehouse and office leases | Dubai Industrial City |
| Visa numbers | Set by DED, not the district |
Source: Dubai Industrial City FAQ page, read .
So it is a place, not a licensing authority. Other TECOM districts such as Dubai Internet City are DDA free zones. This one is not, even though it belongs to the same group. Some setup agencies still call it a free zone. The official FAQ says otherwise, and we follow the official page.
What space does Dubai Industrial City offer?
The district FAQ gives these ranges:
- Offices: 500 to 80,000 sq ft
- Warehouses: 5,132 to 11,250 sq ft
- Industrial land: 62,000 sq ft up to more than 5 million sq ft
Rents and land prices are not published. Ask the district for a quote on the plot or unit you need. Leases and licences both run for one year and renew each year.
What does a mainland licence in Dubai Industrial City mean for you?
A mainland licence changes how you sell.
- You can trade onshore directly. A mainland company sells to UAE customers, contractors and government buyers without a local distributor.
- Foreign ownership is open for most activities. UAE law now allows 100% foreign ownership of most mainland companies. Some activities of strategic impact can still be restricted, so check yours with DED.
- Visas follow DED rules. Dubai Industrial City does not grant a quota. DED decides based on your licence and premises.
- Customs works differently. Goods imported into a free zone pay no customs duty until they move to the mainland. A mainland company does not get that deferral by default.
A free zone company is the mirror image. It trades freely abroad and inside its zone. To sell into the UAE market it needs a licensed mainland distributor, a mainland branch or company, or a permit. In Dubai, the Free Zone Mainland Operating Permit costs AED 5,000 and lasts up to 6 months, for non-regulated activities in its first phase. Our free zone vs mainland guide goes through the trade-offs.
If most of your buyers are in the UAE, a mainland licence in Dubai Industrial City can save you a distributor. If you mainly import, process and re-export, a free zone may cost less in duty.
How much does a company in Dubai Industrial City cost?
Dubai Industrial City does not publish licence fees, because the licence is a DED licence. It does not publish rents either. Only one setup agency publishes a figure for the district, and that is not enough to show a market range. For a real number, you need a quote that covers the DED licence, the lease and any DDA fit-out permits. Read trade license Dubai for how mainland licences are priced.
Which industrial free zones in the UAE compare?
If you want free zone status for a factory or warehouse, these zones issue industrial licences. All figures are from the zones' own pages unless marked as agency prices.
| Zone | Emirate | Industrial facts we verified |
|---|---|---|
| JAFZA | Dubai | Trading, Service, Industrial and Logistics licences; licence from AED 5,000; warehouses from AED 400 per sq m; no minimum capital for an FZE or FZCO; setup 3 to 14 business days |
| KEZAD | Abu Dhabi | Starter package AED 9,450 with 1 visa and a shared workstation; land leases AED 32 to AED 38 per sq m a year; zone of 550 sq km, 100 sq km of it free zone |
| Hamriyah Free Zone | Sharjah | Service, Commercial and Industrial licences; basic licence AED 11,000 in HFZA's archived FAQ; more than 6,500 businesses |
| SAIF Zone | Sharjah | Trade, Service and Industrial licences; pre-built warehouses of 125, 250, 400 and 600 sqm; land from 2,500 sqm; capital AED 150,000 for an FZE or FZC |
| Dubai South | Dubai | Business Hub licence from AED 12,500 a year with no visa (official tier list); Business Park offices from AED 1,200 per sq m a year; DWC LLC warehouses priced by quote |
Sources: JAFZA business licence page, KEZAD business setup solutions page, Invest in Sharjah free zones page, HFZA FAQ (archived ), SAIF Zone pages, Dubai South pages, checked .
How to read the table:
- JAFZA offers four licence types, including Industrial and Logistics, and publishes a warehouse rate per sq m.
- KEZAD publishes a starter package that includes a visa, and land rates per sq m.
- Hamriyah and SAIF Zone are Sharjah options with industrial licences. SAIF publishes warehouse sizes but no prices; setup agents quote AED 10,800 a year for a flexi desk with a 3 visa quota. Hamriyah's site is down for maintenance, and the AED 11,000 figure is from an old archived FAQ, so treat it as a guide only. Two agents still quote AED 11,000 with a 1 visa quota.
- Dubai South prints Business Hub tiers, but a DWC LLC with a warehouse is still priced by quote.
The Dubai free zones hub lists every zone in the emirate if you want to widen the search.
How do you choose between Dubai Industrial City and a free zone?
Pick Dubai Industrial City if:
- most of your customers are in the UAE
- you want to bid for local contracts without a distributor
- you need a large plot inside Dubai
Pick an industrial free zone if:
- you import inputs and export most of what you make
- you want customs duty to apply only when goods enter the mainland
- you prefer one authority for licence, lease and visas
Ask for a quote
Use the form on this page to tell us your activity, the space you need and where your buyers are. UAEFreeZoneDirectory.com is an independent directory. It is not Dubai Industrial City, DED, TECOM or any free zone. We pass your details to a licensed setup partner or to the zone that fits, and they reply with prices.
Sources
- https://dubaiindustrialcity.ae/en/connect/faqs : not a free zone, DED licensing, DDA permits, visas through DED, licence term, office, warehouse and land sizes
- https://www.tecomgroup.ae/ : start year of the district
- https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/business/Doing-business/doing-business-in-free-zones/running-a-business-in-a-free-zone- : free zone trading rules and customs duty
- https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/business/Doing-business/doing-business-on-the-mainland/full-foreign-ownership-of-commercial-companies : foreign ownership of mainland companies
- Dubai Media Office announcement of the Free Zone Mainland Operating Permit, and the Dubai Executive Council resolution on dlp.dubai.gov.ae : permit fee and term
- https://www.jafza.ae/business-setup/business-license/ : JAFZA licence types and fee
- https://www.kezadgroup.com/en/business-facilities/free-zone-business-setup-solutions : KEZAD package
- https://www.kezadgroup.com/en/business-facilities/tariffs : KEZAD land lease rates
- https://www.kezadgroup.com/en/about-us : KEZAD size
- https://www.jafza.ae/business-setup/company-formation/ : JAFZA setup time
- https://www.saif-zone.com/en/business-set-up/ : SAIF Zone licence types and warehouse sizes
- https://www.saif-zone.com/en/faq : SAIF Zone capital
- https://investinsharjah.ae/sharjah-freezones/ : Hamriyah licence types, registration time and business count
- http://web.archive.org/web/20221006005118/https://hfza.ae/faq/ : Hamriyah basic licence cost, archived HFZA FAQ
- Agency prices for SAIF Zone and Hamriyah: Emirabiz SAIF page and Shuraa Hamriyah page
