Dubai Flower Centre will have full free zone status

Ali Al Jallaf, Director-General of DCV, said that the second and third floors of the facility within the phase one will operate as a free zone, where international traders (wholesalers, importers and exporters) can establish operations and perform value-added services, including consolidation, repackaging, bouquet-making, packaging for supermarkets and others.

The centre, now being set up near the cargo village, on a site overlooking the Dubai-Sharjah highway, is planned in three phases and is expected to be operational next year. Deployed on 32,000 square metres within the DCV, the centre will accommodate international companies involved in exports and imports of fresh flowers. Being set up with specific aim of acting as a redistribution centre and located within the boundaries of the Dubai International Airport, it will initially cater to the growing markets of AGCC countries, the Middle East and the Far East. In the long term it is expect to attract other potential markets as well.

The phase one of the flower centre to be completed in mid next year, will offer a footprint of 10,000 square metres for live operations. Each phase of the facility will be designed to handle more than 150,000 tonnes of flowers and other horticultural perishables.

The main handling operations for import, export and transit will take place on the ground floor of the facility. Warehouses and offices will be custom-built to individual company requirements. All warehouse units will have individual temperature control. Al Jallaf said: "The floriculture market in the Middle East is amongst the fastest growing in the world. Led by a rapidly growing population with an increasing disposable income, the market is booming for flowers as well as indoor and outdoor plants.

The wider horticulture market in the region is already large and growing rapidly, with residential development and greening projects driving significant imports. And with per capita floriculture purchasing levels in the region still well below those of Europe, the future growth opportunities are tremendous." He said the potentials in the flower centre were huge given the many ongoing projects in Dubai alone, including the Palm Islands, the Festival City and others filled with demand for cut flowers. Besides, the region itself holds out tremendous promise, he said, adding that the centre will hopefully attract more airlines, while encouraging those already operating in Dubai to increase their lifting capacity.