Samuel Wendel is a journalist covering business and financial news in the Middle East and North Africa. He has extensive experience reporting on key industries and markets, including profiling a variety of influential business leaders and rising entrepreneurs in the region.
Dubai has announced it will build the Middle East 's first free zone for e - commerce , named enterprise zone . The $ 740 m project is a joint venture between the Dubai Airport & Zone Authority and Wasl Asset Management . The zone covers 2.1 million sq ft and will be based near Dubai airport in Umm Ramool . The space will feature office buildings , retail areas and leisure facilities . It is hoped the zone will attract foreign direct investment from e - commerce companies in areas such as logistics , electronic payments and IT that want to expand into the Middle East and south Asia .