Last updated
Manufacturing is the one sector where the licence fee is the small part of the bill. KEZAD in Abu Dhabi lists start-up packages from AED 9,450 a year including VAT, with a shared workstation and 1 visa. SAIF Zone in Sharjah starts at AED 10,800 with a flexi desk and 3 visa quota, as published by setup agents. A real factory then pays for a warehouse, light industrial unit or land, which each zone quotes per unit.
Zones with industrial licences
The table above shows the ten zones in our data that list an industrial licence, factory space or manufacturing segments. In short:
- KEZAD lists industrial, trading, general trading and service licences, with warehouses, light industrial units and land plots. It also offers a domestic (mainland) economic zone next to its free zone. See KEZAD and KIZAD.
- Hamriyah is described as the UAE's second largest industrial free zone and lists industrial land. Its basic licence is AED 11,000 from an archived FAQ copy. See Hamriyah Free Zone.
- SAIF Zone has on-site customs, pre-built warehouses of 125 to 600 sqm and land from 2,500 sqm. See SAIF Zone.
- Fujairah Free Zone lists manufacturing and assembling licences, pre-built factories and land. See Fujairah Free Zone.
- Jafza lists trading, service, industrial and logistics licences from AED 5,000 a year for one activity group, with warehouses and land plots. See Jafza.
- RAKEZ, Ajman Free Zone and UAQ FTZ list industrial licences with warehouses and land. Their pages have the numbers.
- Dubai Production City and SRTIP cover narrower cases: printing, packaging and publishing in Dubai, and technology-led industrial activity in Sharjah.
What manufacturers pay on top
| Cost | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Unit or land lease | Rent per sq m or per unit, deposit and term |
| Industrial or manufacturing fee | Some zones charge more than for trading, such as AED 25,000 at Dubai Production City for signage and packaging manufacture |
| Visas | Quota per unit size, and the fee per visa |
| Environmental or product approvals | Which authority and how long |
| Customs | Whether the zone has its own customs office, as SAIF Zone does |
Source: zone profiles in our directory, checked . Each figure belongs to the zone named in the row, and we state the source on the zone page.
Picking by location
Close to ports: Jafza and KEZAD in the Dubai and Abu Dhabi area, Fujairah on the east coast, Hamriyah on the Sharjah coast. For access to Sharjah's industrial area with on-site customs, look at SAIF Zone. For low desk prices that still allow a plot lease later, compare Ajman and Umm Al Quwain.
Steps
- Write down your product, output and the space you need.
- Ask each shortlisted zone to confirm your activity is licensed.
- Get a written total that includes licence, lease, visas and deposits.
- Ask who issues product and environmental approvals.
- Sign the lease and licence, then apply for staff visas.
Using our form
Send your product and space needs through the form on this page. We are an independent directory and not an industrial zone. We pass your request to the zones or a licensed setup partner. We list no setup firm for manufacturing, because our verified firm data does not say which firms handle factory licences.
Sources
- KEZAD free zone business setup solutions: packages and visas
- Invest in Sharjah free zones: Hamriyah description
- Fujairah Free Zone start your business: licence types and spaces
- UAQ FTZ licences: industrial licence
- DDA licensing categories: Dubai TECOM segment fees
