Dubai CommerCity plans Dh1.8bn expansion as occupancy nears 96%

Dubai CommerCity is running close to full capacity. With nearly 96% of its office, logistics and retail space occupied, the free zone dedicated to digital commerce is moving ahead with a Dh1.8 billion expansion. The second phase will give businesses more room to operate as Dubai seeks to grow its digital economy, according to The National — Business, citing a Dubai Media Office statement issued on Sunday.

The development is scheduled to open in stages between the first quarter of 2027 and the fourth quarter of 2028. It will span CommerCity’s three districts: the Business Cluster, Logistics Cluster and Social Cluster. The free zone is a joint venture between Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority, known as Diez, and Wasl Group. For companies seeking a place in the development, the plan promises a wider choice of workspaces and facilities supporting online commerce.

More space for a near-full development

The expansion will add more than 91,000 square metres of space across the projects. Within that total, the Business and Social clusters will gain 86,000 square metres, broadening the options for local, regional and international companies. Six new buildings in the Business Cluster will offer offices ranging from shell-and-core space, which tenants fit out themselves, to fully fitted offices and flexible, ready-to-use workspaces. The mix is intended to serve businesses in digital commerce and technology.

The logistics component centres on The Hive, a 5,600-square-metre facility with 181 flexible units. It will include temperature-controlled areas for handling and preparing customer orders, alongside loading and unloading zones managed digitally. The Media Office described it as an alternative logistics model. Its addition puts the movement and processing of goods alongside office capacity in the next stage of CommerCity’s development, rather than making the expansion solely about new desks.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman of Diez, presented the project as a sign of Dubai’s capacity to keep expanding despite challenges and changes in the world economy. He also linked it to investor confidence and the need for infrastructure that can respond to fast-moving sectors. His assessment, as reported by The National — Business, was that the investment reflects confidence in Dubai’s economic environment.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed said the expansion reflected growing investor confidence in Dubai and its ability to attract high-quality investment.

A digital-commerce piece of Dubai’s wider plan

The project also fits within the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, Sheikh Ahmed said. That programme aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy, with a Dh32 trillion target by 2033, and place the emirate among the world’s top three cities. It also includes support for 30 private companies to become unicorns — businesses valued at more than $1 billion — while other business incubators, organisations that help companies develop, will support growth among 400 promising private businesses.

For CommerCity, the immediate task is to turn strong demand into additional operating space. The next milestones are the phased deliveries beginning in the first quarter of 2027 and continuing through the fourth quarter of 2028. Those handovers will bring the new offices and logistics facilities into a development whose existing space is already close to fully occupied.