Page 23 - UNION PROPERTIES PR REPORT - MARCH 2025

3/13/25, 10:17 AM Dubai Investments eyes replicating its successful business model

Carving its own path
To attain such success, Dubai Investments has had to carve its own path, being the first of its kind in the country. With no
commercial activities off limits, the company was expected to keep an open mind and look at every business opportunity that
made economic sense. It started small, first by acquiring Marmum Dairy Farm, which was tucked away in the desert, in 1996,

then establishing Emirates Building Systems in 1997, and setting up Emirates Glass and Global Pharma in 1998.
These operations gave rise to a new requirement, a place of its own, explains Kalban. “So, we negotiated with the government
for what you now see as Dubai Investments Park to host the manufacturing plants that we have as well as the future ones.”

Not surprisingly, Dubai Investments’ concept of a property of its own went beyond the usual government-sponsored industrial
areas. Kalban toured the world, from the US to France and Switzerland in Europe, checking out various facilities. Earlier,
during his posting in Singapore, he had seen at close quarters what Singaporeans had built in their own country, Malaysia as
well as China. Taking inspiration from what the world was doing and combining different elements together, Dubai
Investments created a new concept – Dubai Investments Park, a city within a city.

The crown jewel
The novel plan met with a lot of scepticism, with naysayers likening it to pouring money into the desert. “I showed them the
master plan,” remembers Kalban. “I told them it will be an investment park, where we will host everything, offer land for

manufacturing, logistics, residential buildings, offices, schools and hospitals. They said it was not going to work.”
However, Dubai Investments hunkered down and worked towards realising its goals. In 2002, it entered into a joint venture
with Union Properties to build the Green Community in Dubai Investments Park. A gated community of this magnitude – with
800 villas and apartments – was never attempted before in a special zone.

Today it’s the crown jewel of Dubai Investments Park, the flourishing, self-contained mixed-use industrial, commercial and
residential hub spread across 2,300 hectares.

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