Jafza International already manages the Djibouti Free Zone in east Africa and has now positioned itself well as a hub to serve north-west Africa, the Mediterranean and beyond. “Africa is a key market for Jafza International,” says a spokesperson. “Its sheer size and business potential makes it of great interest and we eventually plan to be involved in strategically located free zone projects that cover the entire continent.”

Jafza International’s other long-term project is the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) in Malaysia, situated 70km from Kuala Lumpur. PKFZ and Jafza share striking similarities. Each free zone is based around one of the world’s busiest container ports, they both have excellent transportation links, by sea, land and air and the industrial profile of each free zone is expected to be very similar. PKFZ is expected to become one of south-east Asia’s busiest commercial and trading hubs, a position that Jafza is already recognised for in the Middle East.