Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Economic Zones, KEZAD Group, has signed a long-term land lease with Abu Dhabi Refreshment Company, the PepsiCo franchise bottler for the Emirate, to develop a beverage production and distribution facility worth AED 300 million ($81.69 million).
The facility will occupy approximately 32,500 sqm within KEZAD’s industrial zone and is intended to expand Abu Dhabi Refreshment Company’s production and distribution footprint across the UAE and the wider region. The site will have direct access to Khalifa Port and KEZAD’s multimodal logistics network, enabling raw material imports and finished product exports.
“This investment marks a strategic expansion of our operations in the UAE, a market we have been proud to serve for decades. KEZAD offers an integrated ecosystem with world-class infrastructure and connectivity, enabling us to optimise production, enhance distribution efficiency, and respond more effectively to evolving consumer demand.”
— Fadi Jaber, General Manager, Abu Dhabi Refreshment Company
Abdullah Al Hameli, CEO of Economic Cities & Free Zones at AD Ports Group, framed the deal as a test of KEZAD’s pull on international brands: “Our agreement with Abu Dhabi Refreshment Company reflects KEZAD’s ability to attract globally recognised brands seeking scale, efficiency, and proximity to high-growth markets. Investments such as this reinforce our role in enabling industrial growth and building resilient, future-ready supply chains aligned with Abu Dhabi’s economic diversification agenda.”
Fadi Jaber, General Manager of Abu Dhabi Refreshment Company, cited logistics and infrastructure as the deciding factors: “This investment marks a strategic expansion of our operations in the UAE, a market we have been proud to serve for decades. KEZAD offers an integrated ecosystem with world-class infrastructure and connectivity, enabling us to optimise production, enhance distribution efficiency, and respond more effectively to evolving consumer demand.”
The deal reflects a broader industrial push in Abu Dhabi. Since the launch of the Abu Dhabi Industrial Strategy, industrial GDP has grown significantly, according to AD Ports Group. UAE non-oil foreign trade reached AED 3.8 trillion in 2025, a 27% year-on-year increase, as announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in January 2026.
For FMCG producers, the commercial logic of producing closer to consumption is hardening: shorter supply chains reduce risk, cut lead times, and lower exposure to international freight costs. The KEZAD facility puts Abu Dhabi Refreshment Company’s production capacity at the intersection of Khalifa Port’s container throughput and Abu Dhabi’s consumer market.
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