ABU DHABI, 8th May, 2026 (WAM) — Abu Dhabi Airports’ commercial free zone arm, Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone (ADAFZ), has signed landmark agreements with key players in Abu Dhabi’s business ecosystem, Abu Dhabi Food Hub and Wio, the UAE’s leading digital bank, during its participation at Make it in the Emirates (MIITE) 2026.
ADAFZ manages one of the emirate’s largest free zone land banks, spanning approximately 90 million sqm of gross land area across three strategic airport locations: Zayed International Airport (AUH), Al Bateen Executive Airport (AZI), and Al Ain International Airport (AAN).
Home to more than 500 registered companies, ADAFZ offers a fully integrated, multi-sector business and logistics ecosystem with airside and landside access, bonded corridors, and a flexible regulatory framework that supports 100 percent foreign ownership and zero import or export duties.
Its portfolio includes the flagship strategic logistics hub at Al Falah, spanning 8.3 million sqm of prime land in close proximity to AUH, EMEA’s fastest-growing mega airport; Logistics Park, a specialised 800,000 sqm zone that is already home to FedEx and DHL; and East Midfield Cargo Terminal (EMCT), a state-of-the-art 90,000 sqm facility that will handle 1.5 million tonnes of cargo annually when fully operational in 2027.
As a rapidly growing platform for industrial and manufacturing growth, ADAFZ’s presence at MIITE coincided with a period of exceptional momentum in Abu Dhabi’s non-oil economy. Latest figures from the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi show that the emirate witnessed a record 36 percent increase in non-oil trade in 2025. This follows a 6.8 percent surge in non-oil GDP in the first nine months of 2025 with transport and storage growing 13.8 percent in the third quarter alone.
The first six months of the year also saw a nearly 50 percent increase in new business setups, highlighting Abu Dhabi’s rapidly growing role in global trade and industrial development.
Ahmed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Airports, said, “Abu Dhabi’s non-oil economy is growing at a pace that few anticipated, but which comes as no surprise to us. This momentum is the result of deliberate infrastructure, policy, and investment decisions. ADAFZ today sits at the centre of that infrastructure and is being developed to unlock even more of its potential.
We offer a strategically integrated ecosystem that connects manufacturers, logistics operators, and global supply chains to one of the world’s fastest-growing travel and trade hubs. Make it in the Emirates has been an ideal platform to demonstrate that scale which will connect the next generation of industrial and trade businesses with our proposition in Abu Dhabi.”
Key announcements at MIITE 2026 included the signing of an MoU with Wio Bank to cooperate on streamlining the opening of bank accounts for freezone companies, with joint onboarding and co-marketing benefits, as well as Wio becoming a preferred banking partner for ADAFZ clients, in addition to an MoU with Abu Dhabi Food Hub to collaborate on developing a central consolidation capability that will bring together logistics, infrastructure and trade ecosystems to streamline pathways for the movement of food products across the region and beyond, enabling more connected, reliable and scalable food supply chains.
ADAFZ’s participation at MIITE supports the acceleration of its offerings in front of manufacturers, industrial investors, and supply chain companies in Abu Dhabi and beyond.
Source: Emirates News Agency