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Hamriyah Freezone

Hamriyah Free Trade Zone or Hamriyah Freezone is part of the Sharjah government’s efforts to harness the investment potential of foreign business owners by providing them with required physical areas, facilities, services, and regulations that are attractive and sustainable. With more than 6500 businesses already in its fold, Hamriyah Freezone is a complete success story that is still unfolding.

About Hamriyah Freezone

The emirate of Sharjah is the only emirate that has coasts on the Arabian sea and Arabian Gulf. Hence it is an important part of the global supply chain. That was the reason for the development of Al Hamriyah port. Al Hamriyah is a coastal district of Sharjah wedged between Ajman and Umm Al Quain. The government of Sharjah established Hamriyah Freezone in 1995 to maximize the port facilities. Hamriyah Freezone is the second largest freezone in UAE. Located in the emirate of Sharjah, it is a sprawling Freezone spread over more than 20,000 square kilometers, HFZ provides different options to businessmen. The HFZ is located along the seaport of Sharjah making it easier for export and import processes.

The vision of Hamriyah Freezone

Headed by the young and dynamic Chairman, Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulla Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, its vision is to provide excellent, reliable, and trusted economic environment that nurtures innovation, growth, and transformation of the global economy.

Its strategy, as its Chairman enunciates, is “to provide the international business investor with a unique investment opportunity in a free market environment, thus leading the Emirate of Sharjah into a new age of industrial and free zone development. Additionally, we seek to deliver investor satisfaction every time “.

Companies in Hamriyah Freezone

There are 5 different types of companies that are making use of Hamriyah Freezone in a very big way. These are;

Oil and Gas – Due to Hamriya Freezone’s proximity to Arabian Gulf and Arabia sea, there is a huge movement of Oil and gas through this sea making it easier for any O&G upstream and downstream companies like Manufacture of Lubes, Maintenance of O&G equipment, re-export of O&G specific equipment, and Safety related companies.

General Manufacturing – Recently ArcelorMittal decided to start a huge steel mill in Hamriyah Freezone. Again, the main benefit is its vicinity to all the three-transportation network that enables any manufacturing company to export to markets like Oman, KSA, Bahrain, and Qatar.

Food – The HFZ has a huge food park where one can manufacture food items and export them to markets in the Middle East.

Maritime – O&G and Maritime always go hand in hand. It has a 14-meter-deep port while the inner harbor is about 7 meters deep. This is ideal for shipbuilding, ship maintenance, ship chandlery, retrofitting, and conversion activities.

Logistics – Ideal for companies in the business of logistics like warehousing, freight forwarding, and transportation

SME Sector 

To encourage the unicorns that require flexible but connected workspace, Hamriyah Freezone has An Accelerator Zone which ensures faster processing of visas, low office space, and shared office space.

The Hamriyah Freezone has the following advantages;

  • It is very close to Sharjah Airport. It is also very close to the iconic Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, i.e., E11. It has its seaport. Hence the connectivity is 100%.
  • Another advantage is its vast area which is ideal for largescale and heavy industries.
  • 100% foreign ownership of the business is allowed
  • Branch representation is allowed
  • No customs duty and full repatriation of profits
  • Specially designated area for VAT exemption
  • Infrastructure and Facilities offered by Hamriyah Freezone

Hamriyah Freezone offers you several facilities.

  • It offers well-built, connected, and flexible office spaces
  • It offers warehouses for your logistics requirements
  • It offers land on a long-term lease to build your factories
  • All Offices are equipped with plug-n-play telecom solution
  • It offers a secured work environment as entry to and from the Hamriyah is strictly controlled

For the warehouse, the following facilities are provided;

  • Its warehouses are prebuilt to 3 different sizes; 200 sqm, 400 sqm, and 600 sqm
  • Each warehouse has a reception area, toilets, and pantry with related full plumbing
  • The fires safety system is already installed
  • You have the option to choose from 20KW power to 150 KW power which is an ideal range for light industries
  • Each warehouse has a purpose-specific loading and unloading area
  • There is an option to increase the functionality to add a mezzanine floor for office work
  • Car parking bays are also made in front of each unit
  • The waste management system is also provided through skips that are collected and emptied every day

Water supply is also provided for, industrial land leasing, Sharjah Hamriyah Freezone provides the following facilities

  • Industrial Land
  • You can build your industry through its Industrial land facility. The maximum size that it offers is 30 million sqm and starting size is 2,500 sqm. It has plots along the port for shipbuilding, maintenance, and conversion companies as well as away from the land for other kinds of factories. However, please note that whatever the factory, you are never too far away from the Hamriyah port, Sharjah,
  • When you are building your factory, The HFZ provides a rent holiday to you so that you don’t have to pay rent while the contrition is going on.
  • The land rates are fixed for the first 5 years. This takes care of your bottom line during the initial stage
  • You can take the land on a 25-year renewable lease

As you need a workforce to operate the factory, you will have the facility for a Flexible visa quota, meaning you can increase the quota of visas as your business increases. You don’t need to lease one more plot of land for getting more workforce.

The Hamriyah Freezone offers a networked road infrastructure that is always improving to keep up with the growth

You may use up to 60% of the plot as the built-up area

For your workforce, you may simply lease out dedicated labor accommodation that has a pantry and recreational facilities

A complete solution for waste management is already put in place

It also provides you with solutions related to Occupational health and safety, 24 hours security, ready-to-use telecom infrastructure, and electric power supply

Labour Accommodation – To facilitate business, one needs its core people to stay as close to the factories and industries. This cuts the travel time and also enhances their satisfaction. Hamriyah Free Ezone has built labor accommodation of various types to suit every budget. The common services offered in all facilities include a) Cleaning facility, b) Telecom and internal facility, c) Waste management facility, d) Prayer Rooms, e) 24 X 7 security, f) Control through CCTV, and g) Maintenance. These accommodations come in various categories like 1) 4 persons in one room, 2) 8 persons in one room, 3) Attached or common washroom facilities. Every room has a required storage place for residents of the room.

Investor services

Hamriyah Freezone lays out the red carpet for the investors. It offers various services to its investors right from the time an investor shows interest to ensuring that the is ready to operate its business. It continues its services much beyond that through events, conferences, and continuous education programs. Of late, most of these services are available online and you don’t need to go to any office to avail of these services. Its staff are highly trained, dedicated, and committed to making your experience as an investor happy. These services include;

E-Services – The e-Services of Hamriyah Freezone include services related to Service Provider registration, Document Verification services, and many other services such as New service provider registration, vendor registration, and Leave/ Gratuity calculator. All the mentioned services are available online.

Farms and Procedures – The portal of Harmiyah Freezone has all the forms related to Administration, financial, sales, purchases, and maintenance requirements which could be downloaded, filled, and then submitted to the authorities. The portal offers easy-to-use forms that collectively represent processes.

Department Services – The portal enlists all departments from pre-sales to Maintenance and includes such departments as Customer support, Customer relation, Engineering, Safety, Food, Legal and regulatory, Finance, Regulatory and Compliance, leasing, marketing, purchase, Finance, etc

FAQ        

Where is Hamariyah Freezone located?

Hamariyah Freezone is located in the emirate of Sharjah. It is at the cusp of Ajman and Umm Al Quain. The Hamriyah Freezone occupies a huge area along the coast of the Arabian Sea. It is on the sea route of major Oil export from the countries of Oman, Bahrain, and even UAE. It is part of a major global supply chain. Its location is ideal for the establishment of such an economic zone that is focused on O&G, Marine and Maritime, Food, and general logistics. It is also close to Sharjah Airport too.

How to set up my business in Hamriyah Freezone

To reach Hamriyah Freezone one either goes by bus or by private cab. Once you reach Sharjah Al Rolla, you may take bus no. 114 of Sharjah Road Transport which goes to Hamriyah Freezone and takes almost 1 hour to cover the trip and during peak hours it may take a bit more. You may take a bus from the Dubai Karama Bus stand to Sharjah and reach the Al Jubail/ Rolla Bus stand in Sharjah. The entire trip from Dubai may take more than 2 hours. If you are in a hurry and want to establish a lot of things in a day then we suggest that you take a metered cab from anywhere in Dubai/ Sharjah and get there.

Conclusion

Among free zones beyond Dubai, Hamriyah Freezone is the biggest free zone that provides you with all the options, right from a Flexi workplace for your start-up to huge industrial land for an industrial multi-national group. Due to its location and connectivity and full government support, it is an ideal destination if you want a cost-effective solution for your enterprise.