Businesses hit by fire get priority

DUBAI — Dubai Industrial City (DIC), a member of Tatweer and the third largest non-real estate project in Dubai, announced yesterday that it is offering priority leasing of its warehouses to businesses that were affected by the massive warehouse fires that recently took place in Al Quoz area.
Rashed Al Ansari, Chief Executive Officer of DIC, a member of Tatweer, stressed that the swift initiative from the industrial hub comes as part of its obligation and long term commitment to support the industrial sector in Dubai.
"We are currently leasing 1.5 million square feet of warehouses in our township, and these storage facilities were built to support the businesses of industrial investors in our city and across Dubai and those who suffered losses by the latest fires have the priority to lease our warehouses at reduced rates, considering the challenges they are currently facing," he explained.
Rashed added: "Business owners need to obtain official documentation from the concerned authorities in Dubai indicating that they have been affected by the incident to be eligible for our initiative. Our Client Relations department is briefed and ready to receive the business owners and address all their enquiries."
He pointed out: "We are mandated, as the leading industrial destination in Dubai, to support and boost the sector in the emirate and as a socially responsible company, we have a duty to help investors whose businesses got severely affected, while at the same time absorb the deficit in storage facilities that took place in the city."
He further stated that the warehouses at Dubai Industrial City are designed following strict health and safety guidelines that are being enforced by Maqayees, the Dubai Centre for Industrial Standards, which is in charge of managing and enforcing all quality, health, safety and environmental related procedures across the industrial hub.
"Industrial health and safety are of paramount importance to our operations and we are working very hard to ensure that we incorporate the latest health and safety guidelines in our daily operation and management of warehouses to mitigate such risks and minimise the likelihood of accidents," Rashed said.
Dubai Industrial City's responsive initiative comes after last Wednesday morning saw huge fires engulfing more than 80 warehouses in Al Quoz area following an explosion in a fireworks warehouse. The fires that stretched across one kilometre are considered one of the biggest ever in the history of Dubai, causing losses estimated at around Dh600 million.