Bharat Mart, a new marketplace for Indian businesses in Dubai

Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, laid the foundation stone for Bharat Mart, a market and trading platform for Indian businesses in Dubai, during a ceremony held at the World Governments Summit 2024.

The plans for a new marketplace were unveiled by DP World. Expected to open in 2026, Bharat Mart will offer a trading platform for Indian manufactures and exporters to access global markets.

Stronger trade ties

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman and CEO of DP World Group, said, “By laying the foundations for Bharat Mart, we are paving the way for stronger trade ties between the UAE and India. Our nations have set themselves the target of reaching $100 billion in non-oil bilateral trade by 2030, and Bharat Mart will support this goal, creating more opportunities for Indian manufacturers and contributing to government initiatives like Make in India and D33.

"With our world-class infrastructure, logistics capabilities and business-friendly ecosystem in Jafza, Bharat Mart will be the ideal gateway for Indian goods to efficiently reach the UAE and other high-growth markets in the Middle East, Europe and Africa.”

Abdulla Bin Damithan, CEO and Managing Director, DP World GCC, said: “India is among the UAE’s top five trade partners, a relationship that has been significantly accelerated by a post-pandemic economic surge. This has created a dynamic trade landscape, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to fostering continued growth. Bharat Mart is designed to complement Jafza’s existing offerings, providing Indian SMEs with a seamless platform to export their cargo to new markets and strengthening our position as a key trade gateway between the two nations.”

Envisaged over an area of 2.7 million square feet, with the first phase encompassing 1.3 million square feet, Bharat Mart is set to become a mega distribution hub for Indian businesses to trade domestically in the UAE and re-export to regional and global markets.

The market will be situated in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) and will be part of a wider trade ecosystem that DP World is developing through the Dubai Traders Market, a hybrid retail and wholesale marketplace that will host traders from around the world.

Multimodal connectivity

Bharat Mart is projected to house 1,500 showrooms catering to retail and wholesale customers, and over 700,000 square feet of Grade A warehousing space, providing tenants with combined free zone and onshore benefits. The facility will also offer light industrial units, office spaces and meeting facilities.

Bharat Mart will be located 11 km from Jebel Ali Port, the largest seaport in the Middle East, and 15 km from Al Maktoum International Airport, providing multimodal logistics solutions for Indian exporters. Through the Jebel Ali ecosystem, traders will have direct connectivity to more than 150 maritime destinations and air links to over 300 cities.

Dubai plays a significant role in the trade relationship between the UAE and India, with 87% or $44.9 billion of the total non-oil trade value of $51.4 billion flowing through the emirate in 2022. Close to 1,500 Indian businesses have made Jafza their home in the UAE, trading more than 5 million metric tonnes of cargo valued at $8.6 billion.