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Sub-zone · KEZAD Group · Abu Dhabi

KEZAD Metals & Steel

KEZAD Metals and Steel Park

KEZAD Al Ma'mourah (Khalifa Industrial Zone / KEZAD A, Taweelah area), between Abu Dhabi and Dubai on the E11 corridor; adjacent to Khalifa Port · Est. 2022 · KEZAD Group (Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi), part of AD Ports Group; Metal Park operated by Metal Park Investment ME Ltd (Chairman Saleh Shahrestani, CEO Vahid Fouladkar)

AED 9,450 – AED 41,348/ yr
high confidenceVerified 18 Jul 2026official ↗
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Best for

Downstream metals manufacturers, fabricators, galvanizers, stockists and metal traders that want industrial-scale infrastructure in Abu Dhabi without upfront capex, with port/rail access and designated-zone goods treatment.

Not ideal for

Non-metals businesses, service companies wanting a city-centre address, and firms needing transparent published pricing before engagement.

01Capability profile

Six independent dimensions, scored from official zone data.

?
Banking10/15
?
Visa scale3/15
?
Cost (lower=better)17/20
?
Activity breadth4/25
?
Workspace options15/15
?
Location8/10
02Where KEZAD Metals & Steel sits

Tick marks for every zone, KEZAD Metals & Steel highlighted. The shape of the field, not just the rank.

Year 1 cost← lower is better

KEZAD Metals & Steel: 66th percentile (AED 9,450) · Licence + registration, AED.

Setup time← lower is better

KEZAD Metals & Steel: 40th percentile (10 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

KEZAD Metals & Steel: Moderate · Corporate bank account opening difficulty. Each cell is one zone.

03Costs

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

9,450
– 41,348
Year 1 range · AED
AED 19,855 less than DMCC
budget tier
Show in
Base licence
AED 9,450
Registration
AED 0
Renewal (year 2+)
AED 17,800
3-year total
AED 45,050
2-year visa cost
AED 1,500
Flexi-desk per year
AED 11,748
Hidden & one-off costs
Establishment card
AED 1,000
Cancellation fee
AED 2,500
Visa cancellation
AED 500
Emirates ID (per visa)
AED 300
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
Flexi-desk cap
4
Warehouse cap
2
Family sponsorship
Available
Freelancer permit
Not available
Golden visa
Available
Green visa
Available
Medical required
Yes
Processing time
~10 days
Workspace options
Virtual office
Yes
Flexi-desk
Yes
Coworking
Yes
Dedicated office
Yes
Executive office
No
Warehouse
Yes
Industrial unit
Yes
Land plot
Yes
Ejari issued
No
Parking
Yes
05Banking & setup

Banking difficulty, partner banks, and setup timeline.

Banking
Difficulty
Moderate
Time to account
~10 days
Minimum deposit
AED 15,000
Corp tax rate
0%
Audit cost (est)
AED 15,000
UBO filing
Required
AML / KYC
enhanced
Partner banks
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)ADCBContact zone authority for banking guidance
Neo-bank options
Wio Business (Abu Dhabi-based digital bank, onboard UAE free zone entities)
Setup timeline
  1. Registration mode
    Fully online — no in-person visit required
  2. Documents & application
    Passport, visa, business plan — ~3–5 days
  3. Licence issued
    ~1 business day after submission
  4. Bank account active
    Additional ~10 days · Moderate banking
  5. Operational
    Typically ~10 days, up to ~40 days
06Package pricing

3 packages from official fee schedules.

All figures in AED, from official fee schedules. Visa and health-insurance costs are additional.

PackageVisasYear 1Renewal
Industrial Unit – Steel Processing – 4 VisasBest value4AED 25,000AED 20,000
Large Industrial Plot – Steel Manufacturing8AED 50,000AED 42,000
Warehouse Unit – Metals Trading3AED 32,000AED 26,000
07Permitted activities

Activity categories, restrictions, and approval flags.

50 activitiesMainland selling: YesDual license: Yes

['Steel and metals manufacturing and processing'

'Metal fabrication (incl. modular construction

3D metal printing)'

"Hot-dip galvanizing (UAE's largest galvanizing pool via Galva Hub)"

'Metals storage

fulfilment and stockist operations (pay-as-you-go Storage Hub)'

'Metal trading and distribution'

'Downstream aluminium (hot-metal road molten supply from EGA)']

Categories
industrialtradinglogistics
Matched industry clusters
industrial
Restricted
Non-metals activities are out of scope for the districtDirect UAE-mainland selling from the free zone entity requires customs import or a mainland/dual licence
Require approval
Industrial activities require environmental approvals (Environment Agency Abu Dhabi) and Ministry of Industry permits; MOCCAE/EAD are listed ecosystem partners
08Jurisdiction & ecosystem

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

Common lawNo
VAT designated zoneYes
QFZP eligible (0% tax)Yes
Inferred · 2026-07-18
Mainland permitYes
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).

Focus: metals, steel, aluminium, metal fabrication, galvanizing, metals storage and logistics

27 companiessmall communityNetworking events: YesIncubator: No
Notable companies

['Emirates Steel Arkan (anchor primary-steel producer; Group CEO attended Metal Park launch)', "Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) — Al Taweelah smelter/refinery feeds KEZAD's hot-metal road", "Galva Hub — UAE's largest galvanizing pool, operating at Metal Park", 'Metal Park Investment ME Ltd — ecosystem operator (27 members)']

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.

09Strengths & limitations

10 strengths · 4 caveats.

Strengths
  • ['World-first pay-as-you-grow model: book storage per MT/day and scale production without heavy capex (AED 430m shared infrastructure already live)'
  • 'KEZAD licence fees among the cheapest anywhere: new industrial/trading licence AED 0
  • renewal AED 5
  • 000 (official tariff)'
  • 'VAT designated zone (Khalifa Industrial Zone / FTZ of Khalifa Port) — qualifying goods movements out of scope of 5% VAT'
  • "Unique metals infrastructure: region's only hot-metal road (molten EGA aluminium)
  • 40MT cranes
  • 48
  • 000 MT/day storage-hub throughput"
  • 'Direct Khalifa Port modular-road link plus Etihad Rail terminal; QFZP 0% corporate tax with manufacturing a qualifying activity']
Caveats
  • Metals-only ecosystem — no relevance for businesses outside the metals value chain
  • Metal Park membership pricing is unpublished and quote-based, so total occupancy cost is opaque until negotiation
  • Remote industrial location ~35-45 min from central Abu Dhabi; limited retail/food amenities on site
  • Environmental and industrial permits (EAD/MoIAT) add lead time for heavy-industrial setups

Not ideal for: Non-metals businesses, service companies wanting a city-centre address, and firms needing transparent published pricing before engagement.

10Recent developments

2 policy and pricing updates on record.

  1. 2025-Q1KEZAD Metals & Steel Park attracted a major international steel processor as an anchor tenant, validating the zone's infrastructure for large-scale steel coil processing and galvanising operations.
  2. 2024-Q4KEZAD Group announced investment in an on-site recycling and scrap processing facility within the Metals & Steel Park, aligned with the UAE's circular economy strategy and growing regional demand for recycled steel content.
11Tax considerations

5 tax questions relevant to this zone.

Questions to raise with your tax advisor

  1. Does your planned revenue qualify under the QFZP qualifying-income rules?

    QFZP 0% only applies to qualifying income. Mainland trading or revenue from non-free-zone clients is generally non-qualifying and taxed at 9%.

  2. 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.

  3. Do your goods movements actually fall inside the VAT Designated Zone treatment?

    Designated Zone status applies to goods within the zone, not services. Most service businesses get no VAT benefit from being inside one.

  4. How much of your revenue will come from mainland UAE customers, and how does that affect QFZP and 5% VAT obligations?

    Mainland revenue beyond ad-hoc levels can disqualify QFZP and triggers full 9% corporate tax plus standard VAT on supplies.

  5. 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.

12Frequently asked

4 common questions specific to KEZAD Metals & Steel.

13Similar zones in Abu Dhabi

3 comparable zones in the same emirate.

14About this data

Last verified 2026-07-18 · high confidence.

KEZAD Metals & Steel 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
KEZAD Al Ma'mourah (Khalifa Industrial Zone / KEZAD A, Taweelah area), between Abu Dhabi and Dubai on the E11 corridor; adjacent to Khalifa Port
Established
2022
Authority
KEZAD Group (Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi), part of AD Ports Group; Metal Park operated by Metal Park Investment ME Ltd (Chairman Saleh Shahrestani, CEO Vahid Fouladkar)
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 →
15Founder reviews

What founders who've registered here say.

4.2★150 reviewsGoogle

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16Take the next step

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