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Candidate · Muharraq / Hidd

Bahrain Logistics Zone

Hidd / Muharraq · Ports and Maritime Affairs (PMA), Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT)

AED 1,954/ yr
high confidenceVerified 18 Jul 2026official ↗
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Best for

3PLs, freight forwarders, e-commerce fulfilment and FMCG/cold-chain distributors wanting the GCC's lowest-cost bonded base for Saudi and Northern Gulf re-export - especially operators needing land to build their own facility next to a deep-water port.

Not ideal for

Startups, consultants or traders looking for a cheap desk-and-license package (no flexi/virtual product and 4,000 m2 minimum plots), non-logistics businesses, and firms that need instant all-in-one free-zone incorporation rather than Bahrain's multi-agency national process.

01Capability profile

Six independent dimensions, scored from official zone data.

?
Banking10/15
?
Visa scale3/15
?
Cost (lower=better)19/20
?
Activity breadth4/25
?
Workspace options0/15
?
Location6/10
02Where BLZ sits

Tick marks for every zone, BLZ highlighted. The shape of the field, not just the rank.

Year 1 cost← lower is better

BLZ: 99th percentile (AED 1,954) · Licence + registration, AED.

Setup time← lower is better

BLZ: 4th percentile (30 days) · Total estimated days from application to operational.

Visa caphigher is better →

Absolute maximum visa allocation. Values above 500 clipped to the right edge so the bulk of the distribution stays readable.

Banking ease← better
Easy
4
Moderate
73
Difficult
15
Very difficult
1

BLZ: Moderate · Corporate bank account opening difficulty. Each cell is one zone.

03Costs

Year-one license, renewals, and 5-year totals in AED.

1,954
Year 1 minimum · AED
AED 27,351 less than DMCC
budget tier
Show in
Base licence
AED 1,465
Registration
AED 489
Renewal (year 2+)
AED 1,465
3-year total
AED 4,884
2-year visa cost
AED 3,100
Hidden & one-off costs
Visa renewal
AED 1,800
Visa cancellation
AED 980
Dependent / spouse visa
AED 880
Year-on-year fee tracking begins 2026 — changes appear here as they accrue.
Indicative, from published ratesOfficial fee schedule ↗Verified 2026-07high confidence

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04Visas & workspace

Visa caps, workspace options, and family-sponsorship rules.

Visa allocation
Family sponsorship
Not available
Freelancer permit
Not available
Processing time
~10 days
Workspace options
Virtual office
No
Flexi-desk
No
Dedicated office
No
Warehouse
No
Industrial unit
No
05Banking & setup

Banking difficulty, partner banks, and setup timeline.

Banking
Difficulty
Moderate
Time to account
~28 days
Minimum deposit
AED 9,767
Audit cost (est)
AED 9,767
AML / KYC
standard
Partner banks
National Bank of Bahrain (NBB)Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK)Bank ABCHSBC BahrainAhli United Bank (AUB)Gulf International Bank (GIB)Al Salam Bank
Neo-bank options
meem (GIB digital bank - primarily retail)ila Bank (Bank ABC digital - primarily retail)
Setup timeline
  1. Documents & application
    Passport, visa, business plan — ~3–5 days
  2. Licence issued
    ~14 business days after submission
  3. Bank account active
    Additional ~28 days · Moderate banking
  4. Operational
    Typically ~30 days, up to ~90 days
06Permitted activities

Activity categories, restrictions, and approval flags.

Mainland selling: Yes
Restricted
Activities outside the logistics mandate (retail trading, financial services, general professional services) are not eligible for BLZ tenancy; applicants are screened by a selection committee against economic (30%), industrial (30%) and financial (40%) criteria
07Jurisdiction & ecosystem

Legal framework, tax status, audit requirements, and zone focus — every value sourced.

Common lawNo
VAT designated zoneNo
QFZP eligible (0% tax)No
Inferred · 2026-07-18
Mainland permitNo
Inferred · 2026-07-18
Audit requiredNo
Inferred · 2026-07-18
Economic substancestandard
Inferred · 2026-07-18

This zone offers physical-office options sufficient for a standard QFZP substance posture, though the bar still applies at the entity level (CTGFZP1).

100 (est) companiessmall communityIncubator: No
Notable companies

DHL Global Forwarding / Danzas AEI Intercontinental (first BLZ tenant), GAC Bahrain (1,404 m2 bonded warehouse at BLZ), Schmidt Logistics Bahrain (Schmidt Heilbronn-nogaholding JV, ~USD 20m facility, 2017), Al Daaysi Holding (8,400+ m2 FMCG cold-chain logistics centre, 2024), Logistics Village Management / Al Kooheji Contracting (warehouse developer), Multicom Real Estate (warehouse developer, 22,937 m2)

QFZP, audit, mainland-permit and substance values are sourced where the zone authority or FTA publishes them, and inferred from published zone characteristics otherwise. How we determine these values.

08Strengths & limitations

12 strengths · 3 caveats.

Strengths
  • ["Cheapest GCC logistics base: ranked #1 of 9 zones for total operating cost in EDB's EY 2024 study; business registration/licensing renewals ~USD 27/yr vs ~USD 4
  • 087 in Dubai zones"
  • 'Land at BHD 4.14/m2/yr all-in on 20-year renewable leases with a ~12-month construction grace period'
  • 'Hard logistics advantage: ~3 km from Khalifa Bin Salman Port
  • <20 min to Bahrain International Airport
  • ~1 hour to Saudi Arabia via King Fahd Causeway
  • with 24/7 on-site customs'
  • '100% foreign ownership
  • 0% corporate and personal income tax
  • full capital repatriation
  • duty suspension in the bonded zone'
  • 'Lowest labour and utility costs in the benchmark; on-site dedicated account managers from PMA']
Caveats
  • Logistics-only mandate: tenancy requires selection-committee approval and is closed to non-logistics businesses; no flexi desks, virtual offices or SME starter packages (minimum 4,000 m2 land or developer warehouse)
  • Small 1 km2 boutique park with limited remaining land bank and high occupancy (>80% in 2019) - large plots may be waitlisted
  • Not a turnkey free zone: you incorporate through national Sijilat/ LMRA/ customs channels yourself, Bahrainization quotas add recurring labour cost, and a 15% DMTT now applies to EUR750m+ MNE groups (broader Bahrain CIT announced as forthcoming)

Not ideal for: Startups, consultants or traders looking for a cheap desk-and-license package (no flexi/virtual product and 4,000 m2 minimum plots), non-logistics businesses, and firms that need instant all-in-one free-zone incorporation rather than Bahrain's multi-agency national process.

09Tax considerations

2 tax questions relevant to this zone.

Questions to raise with your tax advisor

  1. Will you need audited accounts even if this zone doesn't require them?

    FTA corporate-tax filing typically expects audited accounts for revenue above AED 50M, and banks often request them at much lower thresholds.

  2. Do any of your customers, suppliers, or shareholders meet the FTA's related-party definition?

    Related-party transactions need transfer-pricing documentation and may push otherwise-qualifying income into the 9% bracket.

These prompts are due-diligence questions, not tax advice. Confirm every answer with a UAE-licensed tax advisor before incorporating.

10About this data

Last verified 2026-07-18 · high confidence.

BLZ data is sourced from official zone authority publications, government fee schedules, and where available, verified against direct communications with the zone. All figures in AED.

Location
Hidd / Muharraq
Authority
Ports and Maritime Affairs (PMA), Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT)
Last verified
2026-07-18
Confidence
high
Methodology
How we score →
Cited source
Fee data sourced from the official fee schedule, fetched 2026-07-18. View source ↗
Per-field citations
How we verify every zone →
11Founder reviews

What founders who've registered here say.

3.3★15 reviewsGoogle

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12Take the next step

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