Dubai will open a dedicated market for Indian traders next year, a senior official at DP World said.

“We have established Yiwu Market (for Chinese traders). We're building Bharat Mart spanning about 2.7 million sqft, which will have all made-in-India products. We have already done the groundbreaking. We're also building Turk Mart for Turkish traders. These are good for our customers who will come here, consolidate their cargos from China, India, from other parts of the world in one place,” said Abdulla bin Damithan, CEO and managing director of DP World for GCC region.

In an interview with Khaleej Times on the occasion of Jafza's 40th anniversary , Abdulla said the first phase of Bharat Mart will be operational in 2026 and it will operate at full capacity in 2027.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

The first phase of Dubai Traders Market is Yiwu Market, spanning 200,000 sqm. Divided into two parts, the first section houses 1,600 showrooms, acting as a shopping district or trading area while the second section comprises 324 warehouses.

The Bharat Mart and the Turk Mart are being built alongside the Yiwu Market located on Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Road opposite Expo City.

The UAE and India are top trading partners with bilateral trade reaching $100 billion, five years ahead of its target, helped by the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed in 2022, Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE's minister of state for foreign trade, said last week.

There are more than 450 Chinese companies operating in Jebel Ali Free Zone, Abdulla said, adding that the government has been instrumental in attracting manufacturing companies to Jafza through incentives.

“We are aligned with the Dubai government's ambitions. We're focusing on small and medium manufacturing companies,”he said.

Moreover, Abdulla said during the interview that DP World has received land to expand the auto market and also working on expanding the fruit and vegetable market.

On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, Jafza revealed some amazing figures for its growth journey. The free zone has grown from just 19 companies to over 11,000 in 40 years; generated Dh713 billion in non-oil trade in 2024, a growth of 15 per cent; created over 1 million direct and indirect jobs in 20232 among others.

In response to a question about the impact of the US-China tariff war, the CEO and managing director of DP World for the GCC region shrugged off the impact of a global trade war as US tariffs imposed on the UAE are among the lowest compared to other countries.

The US announced 10 per cent tariffs on UAE products , much less other many countries.

“Other countries may have more challenging times because tariff reached above 50 per cent whereas ours have not changed much,” he added.

“We have seen these changes around the world, starting with the Iraq-Iran war, the Kuwait war, and the global financial crisis in 2008 and this continues today. We really focus on what we need to do here in Dubai, open new opportunities for our customers. The government's signing of CEPA with India and other countries created opportunities for our customers to come to Dubai and benefit from these,” he added.

MENAFN20062025000049011007ID1109701885