Today's Edition
KHALED AL KHAWALDEH (ABU DHABI)
Abu Dhabi-based aluminium manufacturer, Ducab Metals Business (DMB), announced on Thursday the doubling of its production capacity to 110,000 tonnes per year in what experts described as a major milestone in the UAE’s bid to create a vibrant manufacturing ecosystem and export market.
The CEO of DMB, a subsidiary of Ducab Group responsible for its aluminium and copper manufacturing arms, Mohammed Al Ahmadi, said that the facility expansion will become a reality by early 2025 with the primary aim to export 95% of its products.
The announcement came at an event in Abu Dhabi’s Rosewood Hotel where industry players spoke of the importance of increasing production in achieving Abu Dhabi’s goal to create an auto-manufacturing and assembly industry in the emirate.
Speaking to Aletihad after the event, Massimo Falcioni, the Chief Competitive Officer of Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), said the announcement had come at the perfect time as momentum gathered.
“This will absolutely be big step in creating better supply chains for auto manufacturers and comes at a time where we are already seeing some deals coming up,” Massimo told Aletihad.
“We already have Archer and Joby, in the air-taxi space which will take from Ducab but are also looking to bring some bigger and more established brands to assemble in the UAE, like Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Indian manufacturer Mahindra, which we hope to announce really soon.”
In 2021, the UAE Cabinet adopted the Circular Economy Policy with the aim of better utilising the country’s resources, promoting sustainability and adding value to the economy. The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) has since launched its “Operation 300bn” which aimed to double the contribution of the industrial sector to the country’s GDP from Dh133 billion to Dh300 billion by 2031
These efforts have seen industrial manufacturing boom ever since, with special zones including Khalifa Industrial Zone in Abu Dhabi (KIZAD) experiencing double digit growth.
On Thursday, Dr. Abdullah Al Mahri, Director of Investments and Partnership at MoIAT, said the sector had already reached Dh205 billion in contribution to GDP. He welcomed the Ducab announcement as a foundational step towards achieving the vision of creating a circular economy and value-added manufacturing across the country.
“Ducab metals is crucial not only to helping create that ecosystem and the circular economy, but it is also an enabler of our low-carbon vision due to its adoption of cutting-edge technologies,” he said.
Earlier in 2024, Ducap Metals expanded to add 51,015 square metres of new additional space in Abu Dhabi to its 50,000 square metre facility in KIZAD, in order to increase the production capacity of high-quality copper and aluminium minerals.
