Dubai Internet City , the six-year-old IT and telecoms free zone, is evaluating an initiative to boost research and development, which will increase its attractiveness as a regional marketing hub.

Jamal Abdul Salam, Dubai Internet City's (DIC) executive director, told Gulf News zone chiefs are holding discussions with business partners to ascertain what policy initiatives might be needed to attract R&D activities.

The proposal, part of DIC's growth plans, could include the creation of a fund which would focus on investing in knowledge initiatives to create talent pools and regulatory changes. He said DIC hoped to have a clear picture on the required changes by the year-end.

“We are still in the early stages of evaluation, whether this really makes sense. It is really a long-term strategy,” Abdul Salam said in an interview.

“We could create a fund here. Would companies like to do R&D here if a fund was available? The talent is a concern and regulation is a concern.”

The Dubai Internet City houses some 850 firms, including global giants like GE, Intel, Samsung and Huawei, who mainly use it as a marketing and sales hub for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia . A small amount of software development also takes place there.

Abdul Salam said research and development activity would automatically follow if DIC succeeded in creating the necessary environment. Dubai has had a free zone policy to boost development and already has one for media, financial services, technology and trade. DIC is also looking at setting up similar smart cities in other countries after its success in Dubai and hopes to reach an agreement with the government of India's southern state of Kerela in the next six weeks to set up a city in Kochi.

In March, it signed an agreement with the government of Malta to establish SmartCity@Malta, a business park for knowledge-based companies at a cost of $ 308 million.

DIC had also held preliminary discussions with authorities in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata to set up similar cities there and hoped to create a network of cities over time.

Abdul Salam said demand for space at Dubai Internet City was brisk as companies within the city were expanding and new companies continuously wanted to join. Demand exceeded supply by an average of 120,000 square feet a year.

He said future additions to office space in Dubai Internet City , in which nearly $ 800 million has been invested, will be carried out by independent national developers, who will then hand over the buildings to DIC to lease and manage.

Some 25 business and residential towers are likely to be constructed within the campus in the next five years.

Publication: Gulf News Business Section
Publication Date: August 09, 2006