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Ras Al Khaimah Aspires to be Gulf’s Leading Industrial Hub: Dr Massaad

In an interview with Khaleej Times, Dr Massaad said the emirate of RAK envisages becoming one of the leading industrial hubs where industries from around the world can set up their facilities to feed, clothe, and provide transport and other needs of this booming region and beyond.

“This region will be the most booming economy of the world for the next 20 to 30 years,” Dr Massaad said. “This region is rich in resources and has a fast growing population so there will be an economic boom.”

Dr Massaad, who is also an advisor to Shaikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qassimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, said political strife and conflicts in and around the region are unlikely to hold back the region’s economic progress.

“These wars and political problems will not last for long. Sooner or later they will be fixed. But (in the meantime) the population will continue to grow and these people will need to be fed and clothed; they will need cars for transport and so on. So there will be more and more demand for manufactured products.”

Sooner or later as consumption rises in the Gulf, manufacturers will realise that it will be more cost effective to capture the market by establishing their manufacturing facilities right here in the region, he said.

Although the workforce in most of the region is imported, the cost of doing business is still lower here than in the countries of origin of these expatriates. “Expats here are much more productive than in their own countries, simply because they are focused on making money. We don’t have political and labour problems. So the freedom to recruit talent from around the world has made businesses here more cost competitive and the workforce more efficient.”

Dr Massaad said RAK has kept these comparative advantages in mind while drawing its path to economic progress. “In Ras Al Khaimah we have always had a tradition of industry. 
We had cement factories; we had ceramics which is now biggest in the world and many other small scale industries.”

Devoid of hydrocarbons, RAK’s natural wealth mainly consists of minerals including limestone, gabbro, red clay, and silica, and provided the base for successful cement, glass and ceramic industries. These industries now form the foundation of an ever expanding industrial hub in its dedicated free zones and industrial parks.

“When His Highness became the Crown Prince in June 2003 he took charge of an Emirate which had no oil, no natural gas. He had few options and few choices to develop this place. But he knew that the best option 
was to develop the industry,” Dr Massaad said. RAKIA was established in 2005 with Dr Massaad at its helm and since then has attracted more than $2.5 billion in investment and some 2,500 licenses.

The mandate of RAKIA is to develop and manage industrial parks which include the free zones and industrial zones in the Al Hamra and Al Ghail areas of Ras Al Khaimah. While free trade zones have traditionally been viewed as real estate ventures, primarily issuing licenses, however, RAKIA went the extra mile not only being a facility provider but also offering investment advisory services and equity participation on selected projects.

“Our philosophy is to go to the people you believe really need you or you think you will be useful for their business. So what have I done? I 
have initially employed people, told them that they have to study and come up with a list of companies 
that are likely to be inclined to come to RAK.”

The free zone and industrial park of Al Hamra, spanning 2.2 million square metres, is completely packed with industries. And now the Al Ghail industrial area, 28 million sq meters, of which 5 million sqm is free zone, is filling up fast. Some of the latest investors in RAK include some well know Indian names like Ashok Leyland, Dabur and JBF.

“What we are looking for is a genuine industry, sustainable and long-term business. We are looking for industries that require a base of production for exports to anywhere in the world. We want to be an industrial base for companies looking to export to a broad spectrum of markets,” Dr Massaad said.

To add another layer of incentives to its free zones, RAKIA is targeting the concept of themed industrial zones to create world-class manufacturing clusters. “Geographically concentrating industries brings a wealth of benefits like specialisation, increased productivity, less dependence on imports, reduced transaction cost, higher innovation rates and pursuit of joint solutions to common problems,” Dr Massaad said.

“By using synergies and integrated facilities the industries can learn, grow and succeed together, applying complementation and cooperation for global competition as a cluster rather than competing with each other,” he said.

ovais@khaleejtimes.com