Dubai Chambers Witnesses Logistics Landmark Deal for UAE

Dubai Chambers hosted a cross-border agreement this week that places two private infrastructure players at the centre of the UAE’s logistics expansion plans, as Gargash Prime and JINGDONG Property formalised a memorandum of understanding to develop a 2.5 million square foot logistics facility in Dubai. The signing, on 13 October, was witnessed by H.E. Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers. His presence underscored the institutional role the chamber body has taken in brokering commercial partnerships between UAE- and China-based businesses.

The memorandum was concluded on the sidelines of the Dubai Business Forum China, an event organised recently by Dubai Chambers in Shenzhen. Under its terms, the two parties will invest in a joint venture to develop the site, roughly 250,000 square metres, as a regional distribution and fulfilment hub intended to serve supply chain needs across the Middle East.

For Dubai Chambers, the transaction demonstrates the facilitation mandate the institution has pursued through direct engagement abroad. The announcement came during the chamber’s visit to Shenzhen, and the organisation framed the deal as evidence of the opportunities created when businesses and institutions in both markets engage directly. The signing also reinforces, in the chamber’s telling, Dubai’s position as a platform for international partnerships, investment and trade.

The agreement aligns with a broader policy framework. Gargash Prime positioned the venture as supporting the UAE’s ambition to strengthen its standing as a global trade and logistics hub, and as consistent with the objectives of economic diversification and the Dubai Economic Agenda D33. The company’s stated strategy is to develop large-scale real estate and logistics infrastructure in the UAE through partnerships with global category leaders, and office-holders and business leadership alike have cast the deal in those terms.

Shehab Gargash, Founder of Gargash Prime, said the joint venture is about building the infrastructure the UAE needs to cement its position as a global logistics and trade hub, bringing together two partners with a shared ambition to build at scale. Walid Hizaoui, the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, described the facility as giving the firm the scale and the partner to establish a serious logistics footprint in the region, and called it a clear example of translating the company’s real estate ambitions into infrastructure supporting the UAE’s trade and logistics economy.

On the Chinese side, the mandate sits with JINGDONG Property, the infrastructure investment and asset management arm of JD.com, Inc. Carl Chen, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, characterised the partnership as an important step in its long-term development in the UAE, saying the new distribution and fulfilment facility will strengthen regional capabilities while providing high-quality logistics infrastructure to local and international customers. Feng Guo, Chief Executive Officer of JD.com Middle East, pointed to the UAE’s role as a key gateway between major global markets, citing its connectivity, infrastructure and pro-business environment, and said the partners would combine JINGDONG Property’s technology and logistics capabilities with local expertise to develop a hub supporting more efficient and resilient supply chains in the UAE and the wider region.

The scale of the incoming partner is considerable. JINGDONG Property manages more than 300 infrastructure assets globally, covering over 28 million square metres of gross floor area, with more than USD 16 billion in assets under management. The company specialises in the investment, development and management of high-standard and green logistics parks, business parks and data centres, serving customers across e-commerce, third-party logistics, manufacturing, retail and other emerging industries. As of 30 June 2026, it managed more than 300 infrastructure projects in China and worldwide.

For Gargash Prime, the joint venture marks a significant step in building its real estate and logistics portfolio and in converting its partnership strategy into large-scale infrastructure assets serving the UAE and the wider region. The company describes itself as a diversified investment and operating holding company, a family business in its second century, with a mission to create long-term value by combining capital, strategic partnerships and operational expertise across the UAE and the region.

Whether the memorandum translates into delivered infrastructure will now depend on the execution of the joint venture itself, with both parties accountable for a facility that has been publicly tied to national economic objectives and to the chamber-facilitated relationship between the two markets.