The Department of Planning and Development - Trakhees, the regulatory arm of the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation in Dubai, succeeded in accomplishing more than 27,000 transaction, involving commercial and engineering licensing services during the first half of 2021.

Eng. Abdullah Belhoul, CEO of the Department of Planning and Development - Trakhees, stated that the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, and within its vision to enhance Dubai’s position as a sustainable leading center to support the economic sector at the global level, is working on adopting a culture of excellence to ensure the happiness and loyalty of customers, by stimulating initiatives for continuous improvement in services, which it offers in line with government trends, based on the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may Allah protect him, to make Dubai the preferred destination for investment activities and the easiest destination for doing business globally.

Eng. Belhoul stressed that these trends and initiatives have contributed to stimulating economic growth and enhancing the attractiveness of the business environment in the emirate to investors, pointing to the growth of the percentage of completed transactions during the first half of this year to reach 12% compared to the same period last year, where the total number of transactions reached around 27,687 transactions were submitted by "Trakhees" customers from individuals and companies during the first half of 2021, compared to a total of 22,872 transactions for commercial and engineering licensing services that were approved during the same period last year.

Regarding the services provided by Trakhees, Eng. Abdullah Belhoul said that the Department of Planning and Development provides 284 services to categories of individuals and companies, including engineering supervisory services, issuance of building permits, issuance of commercial licenses, commercial and engineering inspection services for sites, issuance of work permits, and many other services.

The CEO of Trakhees indicated that the growth in the number of transactions and permits was accompanied in parallel by a growth in the number of work permits granted by licenses to employees of companies licensed under the free zone system, reaching more than 2,400 approved work permits during the first half of 2021, compared to the issuance of 874 work permits in the same period last year, indicating a growth rate of 27%.

With regard to the Commercial Licensing Department at Trakhees, it succeeded in accomplishing 11,556 transactions to obtain a variety of services, compared to 6,669 transactions in the same period last year, indicating a growth rate of 17%.

He added: “Licensing has granted many facilities to traders and investors in the free zones that fall within its jurisdiction, including exempting dealers from late fees related to the renewal or cancellation of free zone licenses issued through the department, and exempting dealers from one-time registration fees for free zone licenses, to complement what Dubai provides from stimulus to ensure business continuity and sustainability, and reduce burdens on companies and investors”.