KHALIFA Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad), the new industrial and logistics zone situated next to Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port, has awarded a Dh100-million ($27 million) contract to System Construct for the construction of Phase One of its pre-built warehousing (PBWH) project.

System Construct is a UAE-based construction company with vast experience in building warehouses, residential and commercial buildings, malls, offices, factories, schools as well as infrastructure projects. It was also responsible for the construction of Kizad’s existing show warehouse, the first of its kind in the Middle East, which demonstrates both the spacious and flexible designs and the very high build quality.

Kizad sources confirmed that the delivery of the first units will be in Q4 of 2013.

The 105-unit PBWH project has been divided into three phases and covers a land area of 118,965 sq m. The first phase that is now under way covers an area of 46,453 sq m.

Charles Acworth, head of project development at Kizad, said: “We have been encouraged not just by the significant interest shown in our pre-built warehouse project, but also by the uptake and commitments we have seen from both local and international companies.”

Ziad Shebli, operations manager of System Construct, said: “We are confident that our experience and proven track record in other key construction projects was our differentiator in being awarded this contract.”

Kizad is part of the Abu Dhabi Ports Company’s huge Dh26.5-billion ($7.2 billion) investment in its new maritime gateway and the industrial and commercial zones for the emirate of Abu Dhabi. That figure includes both the first phase of Kizad’s infrastructure and the adjacent deep-water Khalifa Port. Now fully operational, it is currently the only deep-water port in the region with a semi-automated container terminal.

The first phase of the industrial zone in Kizad covers an area of 52 sq km. The second phase covers a massive 366 sq km area – approximately two-thirds the land-mass of Singapore.