Dubai Maritime City, the world’s first purpose-built maritime centre and part of the Dubai World Group of companies, has announced that the maritime centre is poised to support the region's rapidly growing boating community and maritime operators through its comprehensive ship repair and maintenance facility situated in the Industrial Quarter and managed by Dubai Drydocks. When fully completed, the ship repair complex will have a top capacity of over 80 vessels, which is considerably greater than existing facilities.

"Dubai Maritime City has been established not just to cater to the requirements of the maritime sector, but to add more value to the whole maritime community by enabling full integration and easy interaction among maritime businesses and services. Dubai Maritime City's self-contained development concept provides unparalleled benefits to investors, business organisations and all boat owners in terms of efficiency, productivity and comfort. This dream project is something the entire boating community can truly call its own," said Ali Al-Daboos, COO of Dubai Maritime City.

With 227 ha of gross floor area, and a new law establishing the Dubai Maritime City Authority as an independent maritime authority and regulatory body, the state-of-the-art integrated facility is expected to provide unprecedented premium value to the entire boating community, particularly in Dubai - where up to 50,000 boats are expected to be located within the next five years.

"What we are doing represents the future of the maritime industry, which until recently had been only a concept. Through Dubai Maritime City, we are creating a dream destination for all key players of the industry, particularly the rapidly growing boating community as we are transforming Dubai into the world's foremost boating hub, where boat owners and operators can enjoy a full range of services, product support and other related facilities in one accessible, fully integrated location," said Al-Daboos.

"Dubai Maritime City will be a fully networked, centralised maritime-oriented environment, which makes it even more attractive to maritime businesses all over the world. The project's marketability has actually been tested early on when over 1,000 companies have pre-registered within Dubai Maritime City. Additionally, we are looking at a population of up to 100,000 people within the maritime complex, which will easily make it the most dynamic maritime centre in the world," concluded Al-Daboos.

On completion, DMC will encompass six distinct districts: Harbour Offices, Harbour Residences, Maritime Centre, Marina District, Academic Centre and the Industrial Quarter. Aside from the world-class infrastructure facilities, Dubai Maritime City also offers investors and business organisations highly attractive economic incentives such as free-zone benefits, responsive government support, a tax-free business environment and an effective port structure.