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The Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD) is on the official list of the emirate's six free zones, kept by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED). Its land now sits with KEZAD Group: KEZAD's own auction page calls the areas KEZAD Musaffah (previously ICAD II) and KEZAD Rahayel (ICAD V). KEZAD's serviced industrial plots cost AED 32 to AED 38 per sq m a year. An Industrial City of Abu Dhabi licence fee is not published, so that part comes by quote.
What we know about ICAD
| Question | What we found |
|---|---|
| Is it on the official free zone list? | Yes, on the ADDED list, page updated 13 October |
| Who operates it? | KEZAD Group leases its plots as KEZAD Musaffah (ICAD II) and KEZAD Rahayel (ICAD V) |
| Land price | KEZAD tariff: AED 32 to AED 38 per sq m a year for serviced industrial plots |
| Licence fees or packages | Not published |
| Visa quota and fees | Not published |
| Company types | Not published |
| Setup time | Not published |
Checked .
The operator question is now answered on KEZAD's side. On 19 September , AD Ports Group merged ZonesCorp and KIZAD into KEZAD Group. ICAD had been tied to ZonesCorp. KEZAD's plots auction, which ran from 10 February to 13 March , offered land in "KEZAD Musaffah (previously called ICAD II)" and "KEZAD Rahayel (ICAD V)" on musataha leases of up to 50 years. What it does not say is which licence a new company on that land gets: a KEZAD free zone licence or a mainland one. KEZAD runs both kinds of zone, so ask.
How much does an ICAD license cost?
The land price is public, the licence price is not.
| Cost | Figure | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Serviced industrial plot, Abu Dhabi (domestic and free zone) | AED 32 to AED 38 per sq m a year | Official, KEZAD tariff |
| Common area levy | AED 3 per sq m a year | Official, KEZAD tariff |
| Licence and registration | Not published | By quote |
| Visas | Not published | By quote |
Source: KEZAD Group tariffs page and plots auction page, checked . The tariff covers KEZAD's serviced industrial plots in Abu Dhabi and does not name ICAD, so confirm the rate for a plot in KEZAD Musaffah or KEZAD Rahayel.
The auctioned plots were priced one by one, with a full year's rent as a security deposit, 12 or 18 months rent free and a 15% rise every 5 years. Plot by plot rents like these will not match the standard tariff.
For the licence, one agency publishes a figure, and a single source is not enough for us to show it. If someone quotes you an ICAD licence price, ask which authority will issue the licence and whose letterhead the invoice will carry.
The KEZAD industrial option
If you need a factory, workshop or warehouse in Abu Dhabi, KEZAD is the zone with published numbers, and it is the body that now leases the old ICAD land.
From KEZAD's own tariff and business setup pages:
- Industrial licence: one of four licence types, along with trading, general trading and service
- New licence and registration: AED 0
- Renewal: AED 5,000 per 2 years for an industrial licence
- Serviced industrial plots: AED 32 to AED 38 per sq m a year, plus a common area levy of AED 3 per sq m
- Space: pre-built warehouses, light industrial units, serviced land and build-to-suit
- Capital: KEZAD's brochure says the free zone has no minimum capital
KEZAD also runs areas in Musaffah, Al Ain and Al Faya, and offers domestic (mainland) zones as well as free zone land. That matters if you will sell mostly inside the UAE.
Other industrial zones to compare
Outside Abu Dhabi, two zones publish industrial offers you can price. Dubai Industrial City is aimed at manufacturing and logistics in Dubai. Hamriyah Free Zone in Sharjah has port access and industrial plots. The Abu Dhabi free zones hub lists all six zones on the ADDED list.
What to ask before you commit to ICAD
- Which authority issues the licence for a plot in KEZAD Musaffah or KEZAD Rahayel, and is it a free zone or mainland licence?
- What are the licence, registration and renewal fees?
- What does the plot, unit or warehouse cost per sq m, and what service charges apply?
- How many visas come with the space?
- Do you need environmental, civil defence or other approvals before production?
Ask us to find out
Use the form on this page to describe your product, the space you need and your timeline. UAEFreeZoneDirectory.com is an independent directory and has no tie to KEZAD Group or ADDED. We pass your request to the right free zone team or a licensed setup partner, and they reply with the licence route and a price.
Setup consultants and ICAD
Few of the setup consultants we list name ICAD on their own websites, so ask the zone which agents it works with. The directory of Dubai setup consultants lists firms by area and service, and the top 15 by weighted Google score shows how they compare.
Sources
- ADDED free zone list: ICAD named as an Abu Dhabi free zone
- AD Ports Group news on the KEZAD Group launch: merger of ZonesCorp and KIZAD
- KEZAD plots auction: KEZAD Musaffah (previously ICAD II) and KEZAD Rahayel (ICAD V), lease terms
- KEZAD tariffs: licence, renewal and land fees
- KEZAD licence types: industrial licence
- KEZAD business facilities: locations and space types
