Dubai – Mubasher: Construction work at the Dubai Food Park is ongoing, as the emirate is working on developing a national future food security plan that includes advanced research and adopting technologies.
Built within Dubai Wholesale City, the park’s total cost amounted to $1.5 billion and comes after Dubai hosted Gulfood Manufacturing, the largest trade show for the food processing and manufacturing sector in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) region.
The park is considered the region's largest free zone dedicated to serving the rapidly growing food sector.
It is located close to Al Maktoum Airport, Jebel Ali Port, the Expo 2020 Dubai site, and key highways such as Emirates Road and Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road.
Moreover, the park, which is the first of its kind in the region, includes a central wholesale market that serves the retail, hospitality, and food service sectors, a logistics area, an area for complementary services such as packing, repacking, and processing, and a dedicated area for handling packaged goods.
The project has been established in order to meet the growing demand from the food sector in the UAE and the wider region, growing populations and the development of the tourism sector.
"There is an increased need for specialized logistical services that ease supply chain costs, as well as for more dedicated spaces to accommodate the fast-growing operations of food companies in Dubai,” Abdulla Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Wholesale, previously said.
Strong market demand promoted an exhibitor intake of over 1,600 manufacturers and suppliers from over 60 nations.
Recent statistics showed the regional food consumption is expected to hit 51.9 million tonnes by 2019.
