Dubai International Airport will be the location of the Middle East’s first flower trading facility. The Dubai Flower Center, established with a 290 million Emirati dirham ($79 million) investment, will accommodate international companies involved in imports and exports of fresh flowers to Europe, the US and Asia reported WAM news agency.
The 32,000 square meter facility will be built in three phases, the first of which will be completed by 2004. The center is expected to trade between 250,000 to 300,000 tons of flowers a year, generating billions of dirhams in turnover.
In hopes of grabbing a share of the flower business from Holland, which is considered the undisputed leader in world trade, the center plans to have an electronically mastered auction house set up in the future. Minimum rental fees will be charged while firms will be granted cent per cent ownership.
The Dubai International Airport has been ranked 26th globally in terms of cargo volume efficiency in the first 11 months of 2001. The airport handled 574,520 tons of cargo during this period, recorded the Airports Council International (ACI). — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
