Dubai Seeks to Become a Global Marinas Hub under New Deal

Dubai is a hotspot for the wealthy and the luxurious. Easily the most affluent of all the Emirates which make up the UAE, Dubai has transformed into a hypermodern city fueled by world-class malls, architecture, unique attractions and its very own artificial island.

Recently, Dubai signed a joint venture agreement with D-Marin, that operates one of the largest chain of marinas is the Eastern Mediterranean. Through this joint venture, Dubai seeks to position itself as the global capital for luxury yacht marinas. An excellent portal to newer businesses opportunities, especially in line with what's currently picking up pace and expansion in Dubai. Thus, in association with Dubai Holding, Meraas announced that it has endorsed in an agreement with D-Marin in an effort to entice and attract international investments in Dubai’s yacht sector. The accord was signed by Abdulla Al Habbai and Ferit Şahenk. The group chairman of Meraas and chairman of Dubai Holding, and chairman of the Dogus Group (the parent company of D-Marin) respectively.

The yacht sector in Dubai is of course seeing a tremendous demand as it is the epitome of a luxurious must-have. Therefore, through this joint venture, collective efforts are being made to raise Dubai to the point of becoming a world leader and a hub for luxury yachts. Additionally, it also intends to position Dubai as the most preferred location for luxury yachts and international boating.

The goal for the inception of this joint venture is to create a means to take control and maneuver the current and future marinas and boating started by Meraas and Dubai Holding. Notable marinas held by them are the marinas in Port de la Mer, and Dubai Harbour and Jumeirah Beach Hotel. The accord aims at establishing a regional centre with international and world-class standard for revamping, servicing and maintain the luxury yachts and boats in Dubai in a manner similar to D-Marin’s MB92. It also includes long-term provisions for the development of marina lifestyle destinations through investment into other sectors in the Middle East and Far East which aims at setting up a business in Dubai in the yacht industry more favorable and with more returns. It would also fully own operate the largest marina in the Middle east and North Africa.

Key Highlights

• The accord will consist of long-term assistance for the growth and advancement of extra marina lifestyle offerings through a much larger array of services that would further develop and encroach into other sectors in the Middle East and also in the Far East regions.
• As mentioned above, but worth mentioning again, the accord aspires to offer top notch services to boat and yacht owners and customers across the globe and to procure an organized calendar of marine activities, boat races and other miscellaneous marine events, in order to support and reinforce Dubai's leading position as a global hub for the marine sector.
• In UAE, the aggregate valuation of the maritime sector is projected to reach about $66 billion towards the end of 2018 and the total valuation of the leisure boating industry lies in-between the range of $1.3-$1.5 billion. As it ranks ninth in world, UAE affirms its position in the lead within the recreational maritime sector with the construction of 14 new luxury yacht projects with a collective length of 611 metres being manufactured locally in 2018.
• Ferit Şahenk has said that through this joint venture, Dubai seeks to pave the way for the long-term investment plans which supports and encourages the city's potential and inducing it to harness opportunities in company setup, management and development of marinas in the GCC region.
• Al Habbai has said that the joint venture will provide additional momentum in attracting new foreign investment to Dubai. Which basically aspires to generate more scope for company setups in the boating and yachting sector unproblematic and in greater abundance.

Commitbiz is a business consulting firms helping entrepreneurs and firms with company incorporation, accounting, bookkeeping, audit, intellectual property protection and corporate secretarial services in Dubai for over a decade. To know more, contact us – we’d be happy to help!