AD Ports Group's subsidiary Kezad Group and online shopping platform noon.com on Wednesday broke ground on the UAE’s largest fulfilment centre in Abu Dhabi, which will form part of an anchor investment by Noon in the emirate’s fast-growing e-commerce space.
The 252,000-square-metre fulfilment centre, which is being designed and developed by Kezad Group under a build-to-suit agreement, is scheduled for delivery in 2024, AD Ports said on Wednesday.
The automated facility for storage, material movement and sorting will help quickly deliver products to millions of customers in the UAE and create thousands of new jobs, it said.
"More than 5,000 small businesses will use our fulfilment centre to store their goods and conduct business. This will allow our youth and small businesses to connect with the growing number of e-commerce customers without having to invest in technology or real estate," said Mohamed Alabbar, founder of noon.com.
It will also help core sectors such as retail and logistics accelerate their online operations.
"This is not your typical real estate project — technology infrastructure projects of this scale are change agents for the future, not just for our company, but also for our community and country," he added.
The UAE provides a big opportunity for e-commerce companies. The sector in the country is projected to grow to more than $8 billion by 2025, as consumers across the region continue to shift towards online retail, according to Euromonitor International.
Noon.com, the portal backed by Emaar founder, Mr Alabbar, and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, was the third biggest e-commerce player in the UAE last year, with net sales of about $169 million, data from ecommerceDB shows.
The noon.com fulfilment centre aligns with AD Ports Group's mission to position Abu Dhabi as a global hub for trade through the development of an industrial ecosystem within Kezad, said Mohamed Al Shamisi, managing director and group chief executive of AD Ports.
"The facility will bring significant economic benefits with the creation of thousands of jobs and will offer new opportunities for the private sector looking to reach customers across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe," he said.
The facility "represents an important milestone in our collective journey to enable the rapid expansion of e-commerce and same-day delivery models in the region", he added.
Fulfilment centres are key to the operations of e-commerce companies. Unlike ordinary warehouses that simply store products to be distributed at a later time, fulfilment centres temporarily hold items that are meant to be packed and delivered to customers faster.
The global e-commerce fulfilment services market is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 9.5 per cent to hit about $195 billion by 2030, from $86.4 billion in 2021, according to Grand View Research.
While noon already has a facility at Kezad, it decided to expand its operations to a larger area by using Kezad Group’s build-to-suit service, which will facilitate the design and delivery of noon’s facility.
The development has been tailor made to meet the company’s specific operational requirements, helping to reduce costs, boost productivity and offer essential supply chain efficiencies, the statement said.
Additionally, the completed facility will be a sustainable building conforming to Estidama 2 Pearl rating which incorporates initiatives to enable water, energy and waste minimisation.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (Adio) is providing Noon with financial and non-financial incentives as part of the continued expansion of Abu Dhabi’s fast-growing information and communications technology ecosystem.
"Abu Dhabi’s e-commerce sector has taken another step forward with work commencing on the country’s largest fulfilment centre," said Abdulla AlShamsi, acting director general of Adio.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
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Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
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- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
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