Business Bureau, Gulf Today

Sharjah-based Hamriyah Free Zone Authority (HFZA) has signed a new agreement with Alucor, innovative international engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.

Under the agreement, Alucor leased 555,418 sq. ft of the inner harbour quayside land inside the free zone to expand its operations and businesses in the region.

Alucor was founded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with over 30-year of experience in oil and gas, petrochemicals, ports and marine, power and water, mining and metallurgy and infrastructure industries/market segments. Alucor is considered one of the most reliable and experienced EPC contractors in the Middle East.

Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, Director of Hamriyah Free Zone and Suresh Bhatia, Chairman of Alucor, signed the lease agreement during a ceremony held at the premises of HFZA in the presence of a number of senior officials and directors from both sides.

The agreement is further testimony to HFZA’s growing status and reputation as a leading hub for attracting foreign investments and offering global competitive advantages.

Saud Salim Al Mazrouei said: “Despite the current global economic conditions, HFZA has proven its ability to attract investments from all sectors, thanks to the numerous competitive benefits we offer, which form a crucial factor in the decisions of these companies to have a presence in Sharjah and to take it as a center for expanding its operations in nearby and distant markets”.

Al Mazrouei added: “Alucor’s decision to establish new facilities at HFZA constitutes additional proof of our success to providing a fertile and perfect environment for business growth and expansion. It is also a testament to the excellence of our services, the confidence of our customers, and the quality of our infrastructure. Such pull factors stimulate the long-standing and global companies to take HFZA a centre for expanding its operations and businesses”.

Concluding his remarks, Al Mazrouei said: “Thanks to our firm commitment to the interests of our investors, we strongly contribute to driving Sharjah’s economy by enhancing economic diversification and attracting foreign investments to consolidate the emirate’s reputation as a global business hub”.

For his part, Bhatia said: “Alucor is extremely pleased and excited to establish new facility in Hamriyah Free Zone. Over the last few years, we have been actively identifying the right investment opportunities to expand our business. While Alucor has several active projects presently being executed, we see the current challenging market conditions as an opportunity to further improve our infrastructure so that we can enhance our market offering and better serve our customers”.

He added: “With the quayside facilities at HFZA, Alucor is strongly positioned to improve its market share in the manufacturing of large, complex structures and equipment for oil & gas and offshore & renewables market segments, and we strongly believe that our presenceand relationship with HFZA will continue to grow in the coming years”.

In addition to offering industrial and commercial plots of land, HFZA, the second-largest industrial free zone in the UAE, provides advanced infrastructure and modern facilities that strengthen external expansion plans for investors, especially in import and re-export to the world’s markets.

It also provides countless competitive advantages, most notably a single-window operation that boosts the efficiency of performance and eases procedures of doing business, along with multiple tax exemptions, repatriation of capital and profits, full foreign ownership of the business, and quick access to regional and global markets. Alucor has more than 30 years’ experience and considered one of the most reliable and experienced EPC contractors in the Middle East.

Al Mazrouei said Alucor’s decision to expand at HFZA constitutes additional proof of the success to providing a fertile and perfect environment for business growth and expansion

Bhatia said Alucor’s new facilities will enhance the efforts to increase the market share in the field of manufacturing of large and complex structures and equipment for the oil and gas, petrochemical and marine port sectors.