Dubai: Having just set up a platform for a range of imported marble brands in Dubai Investments Park, the promoter of Marmo Classic wants to take the next logical step — set up a marble processing plant.
“Marble is a building commodity that continues to be imported for the bulk of the local construction requirements, and even from plants in Oman,” said Subodh Shah, who owns Marmo Classic. “There are existing plants in the UAE, but these are of relatively small capacities.
“Given the way the construction sector is projected to grow in the medium-term, demand for marble is going to skyrocket. With villa projects, and most of these tend to be high-end, marble requirement is around 80 per cent, and for commercial property it would be in the 30-35 per cent range.”
If his due diligence plans do turn out favourable, Shah’s intention is to create a mid-sized marble plant in Jebel Ali at a cost of $10 million. The machinery will have to be imported from Europe. Any future output will principally feed local demand. “We have just set up the base at DIP and it will take some time to scale up and commit to a standalone plant,” said Shah. “But our target is to aim for a possible commissioning towards late 2015. But Jebel Ali should be the ideal location.”
The group’s flagship — Classic Marble Company — operates a plant on the outskirts of Mumbai, with a processing capacity of 100,000 square feet a day.
