A crowd of senior officials from JAFZA, international traders, the local and international financing community as well as senior management and employees of Conares and its shareholders watched on as Sheikh Ahmed cut the tape during the opening ceremony at the 500,000 MT steel rebar facility.
Conares confirmed that it also plans to expand its 150,000m2 footprint in the free as it further invests in its operation.
“The new investment is in line with our confidence and positive outlook on Dubai’s long term prospects,” told Bharat Bhatia, CEO, Conares. “The new investment is in line with our confidence and positive outlook on Dubai’s long term prospects. It is also a significant step for Conares in its strategic business growth plan to leverage our strength in the regional market further by offering an enhanced product range to our customers.”
He added, “The reputation of Dubai as a regional trading hub continues to catalyse our growth. Coupled with this is the proactive encouragement and support by Jafza. The logistical edge it provides with port facilities in the proximity is what has made Conares a global player today. Our new investment, despite the uncertainties in the region, is a testimony of the Conares confidence in Dubai and the region as a growth hub.”
The choice of JAFZA not only puts it close to the UAE and GCC, but also allows Conares to export to major customer India.
Salma Hareb, CEO, Economic Zones World, the parent company of JAFZA, also spoke at the event and thanked Conares for its support of the free zone.
“Conares has emerged as a significant achiever in its area of operation and as its host, Jafza is happy to share in this achievement,” she said. “The new facility will contribute to the overall industrial capabilities of the UAE; and is a vital endorsement of Jafza as well. We remain committed to providing a world-class platform for them to expand their footprint in the region.”
Looking ahead, Conares director Mathew Ambat, said that production will raise its annual cumulative installed capacity across all our plants to 700,000 MT per year.
“The new plant will have an annual installed capacity of 500,000 MT. It will produce 8-32mm rebars with 6-18m length range conforming to global standards and will be primarily used in the construction industry.”
Conares currently manufactures tube and pipe products apart from supplying steel billets, slabs, hot rolled coils, galvanized coils and sheets and a host of other industrial steel products to the UAE, GCC and overseas markets.