Improvements are being undertaken at Hamriyah Port that will make the adjoining free trade zone attractive to manufacturers and warehousing companies.

Its inner-harbour project covers the first-phase construction of 3.1km of wharfage across 350m with a draft depth of seven metres.

The project, to be completed in three phases and costing Dh75 million in the first phase, was officially launched by Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, recently.

As part of the expansion, a drydocking facility is being created with the capability to service small and medium-sized vessels. Halcrow is project consultant and Dutco Balfour Beatty the construction contractor.

Sharjah Free Zones Authority chairman Shaikh Tariq bin Faisal Al Qasimi said the first phase would be completed by April 2003. "At its completion, the inner harbour should have a total wharfage length of 5.5km," he said.

Dr Shaikh Sultan has urged officials to help facilitate industry in the emirate by employing free zones as key economic growth engines. He also pointed out that such zones helped create jobs and business opportunities.

The project could not have come at a better time with the number of free zone tenants expanding at a good rate. Already the harbour project has received a good response from the business world. Twenty-five per cent of the complex was booked at the time the project was inaugurated by the Ruler. Among the early bookings were several companies engaged in fuel storage activities.

Those allotted space include Lamnalco and GMMOS Sharjah. They were given slots as part of a major relocation plan undertaken in concert with a city beautification project in the Layyah area.

Sharjah's third port at Hamriyah is being developed because another port in the area, Mina Khalid, is fast approaching saturation, an official said.

Issa Juma Al Mutawa, director-general, Sharjah Ports Authority, said Mina Khalid itself would witness sizeable expansion by optimising available resources. Saipem plans to have four more berths and Maritime Industrial Services is also growing its facilities. The port currently has 11 berths.

Hamriyah Free Zone, where investment has crossed the billion-dirham mark ($272 million), is preparing for a surge in the entry of new business organisations following ongoing infrastructure projects to make the zone an attractive proposition for investors in factories, commercial offices and other enterprises.

The zone witnessed a 30 per cent increase in the number of companies in 2001 and now houses more than 200 companies with over half of them being industrial in nature.

Director of the zone Rashid Al Leems said the infrastructure available was among the best in the world and space could be had at affordable rates. The aim was to make it the most cost-effective industrial free zone in the Middle East.

"The dredging in the inner harbour project is an example of its commitment to providing better infrastructure facilities to its investors. The completion of this project will be a major boost to the region's maritime industry and constitute a giant step forward in boosting shipping and export-oriented businesses," Al Leems said.