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Bahrain Logistics Zone set to generate Dh1b in investments

DUBAI - Bahrain expects to reassert its position as the most strategic trading centre in the Middle East with the opening of Bahrain Logistics Zone (BLZ), which could generate investments worth Dh1 billion ($280 million) or a total of Dh2.2 billion if the size of the facility is increased by 150 per cent.

BLZ is the first boutique multimodal logistics hub in the Middle East that focuses on re-export and value-added logistics activities, according to Bahrain's Economic Development Board (EDB), the government agency in-charge of the economic development strategy in Bahrain.

EDB said in a statement yesterday that BLZ's first-phase development would attract at least 50 local, regional and international tenants that would create 2,400 logistics-related jobs while generating investments of over Dh1 billion. BLZ will offer tenants 475,000 sq m of leasable warehouse, retail and office space when completed.

BLZ extends to its tenants a number of incentives including tax-free operations, no customs duties on imports and re-exports and 100 per cent foreign ownership. It is adjacent to the new Khalifa bin Salman Port, in northern Bahrain, which has a capacity of 2.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

"The BLZ has enormous economic growth potential for Bahrain," said Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Mohammed Al Khalifa, the chief executive of EDB. The logistics sector is a key contributor to the Bahraini economy, which grew 6.3 per cent last year while the global contract logistics industry grew nine per cent to Dh808 billion. The statement said Bahrain is ranked second in the Middle East on the logistics performance index of the World Bank.

jose@khaleejtimes.com