Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza)

Free zone licensing

Companies take a Jafza trading, service, industrial or logistics licence and can be fully foreign owned. Customs sits on site, and goods carry no import or re-export duty while they stay in the zone. Duty applies when goods move into the UAE mainland market, and local sales go through a licensed mainland distributor or a mainland branch or company.

Tenure. Land is leased from Jafza on short or long-term leases, and Jafza states that tenants can mortgage their premises.

Who locates here

• 3PLs and freight forwarders
• Automotive spare parts distributors
• Food and agriculture traders
• Petrochemical companies
• Consumer goods and electronics distributors
• Healthcare distributors

Property

Pre-built warehouses, light industrial units, cold stores, showrooms, offices and staff accommodation let by Jafza, multi-unit schemes such as Jafza Gateway and Jafza Logistics Park, and plots where tenants build their own facilities.

Formats. Land plots, Warehouse units, Light industrial units, Cold storage warehouses, Showrooms, Offices, Staff accommodation

Jafza lists pre-built warehouses with heights of 6 to 12 m, a floor load of 5 tonnes per sq m and loading docks for containers and trucks, and land plots from 5,000 sq m (Jafza website, accessed October 2026).

Our view for tenants

Jafza suits businesses whose goods arrive through Jebel Ali and move on to other markets, because the port, customs and the free zone sit together. You can rent a ready unit, lease land and build, or ask Jafza to build for you. If most of your sales are inside the UAE, plan for the distributor or mainland licence step and the duty due when goods leave the zone.

Our view for investors

Land and buildings are leased from the operator, so any investment is a leasehold position on terms set by Jafza. Tenant demand follows trade through Jebel Ali Port, and recent openings include 3PL and automotive parts hubs (Jafza, 2025 and 2026). Check the lease term and the rules on transfer and mortgage for each plot before committing capital.

Notable

• Hellmann Worldwide Logistics and INDU Group. Automotive spare parts logistics hub of about 300,000 sq ft, announced June 2026. jafza.ae
• Gallega Global Logistics. Multi-user 3PL hub of 215,000 sq ft, opened May 2026. jafza.ae
• A-HEAT (Allied Heat Exchange). Heat exchanger plant to be developed by Jafza as a build-to-suit facility, agreed February 2025. jafza.ae