Printing, packaging and media production with warehouse options — the industrial cousin of the TECOM media cluster.
LAST VERIFIED: 21 JUL 2026 · The authority publishes no public tariff — figure is a market-indicative estimate, confirmed in writing on application.
Dubai Production City — the former IMPZ (International Media Production Zone) — is a TECOM cluster built for the physical end of media: printing, publishing, packaging, media distribution and the warehousing that goes with them. It fits a printer relocating a press to Dubai, a packaging manufacturer, a book or magazine publisher that also stores stock, or a distributor that needs a warehouse and a trade licence under one roof.
It does not fit a solo consultant or a digital-only agency. The zone is built around physical premises, so the AED 15,000 headline only makes sense once you also lease space — which makes it an expensive choice for anyone who could work from a flexi-desk in another Dubai free zone. Pure film and TV crews belong in Dubai Studio City; screen-only creative and PR shops belong in Dubai Media City.
The AED 15,000 figure in the spec table is the commercial licence alone. Because a physical premises is mandatory here, that number never stands on its own. The real budget is driven by the lease — a business-park office, a light-industrial unit, or a warehouse, each priced very differently — plus the establishment (immigration) card, e-channel registration and per-visa costs (entry permit, medical, Emirates ID, stamping).
Print and publishing activities can also carry a content/media approval step depending on what you produce, which a pure trade licence elsewhere would not. Budget for name reservation and any activity-specific approval on top of the licence.
Dubai Production City is not a virtual-office zone. You take real premises — from a serviced office in the business park to a warehouse or an industrial unit — and your visa allocation is tied to the area you lease rather than a fixed per-company cap. More square metres, more visas: a small office supports a handful, a warehouse many more. That makes this one of the better Dubai zones for a production business that needs to put a team on the floor.
Setup runs about 10–14 working days once documents and the lease are in place. Everything standard applies afterwards: corporate tax registration, VAT once you cross the threshold, and staff residence visas processed through the zone.
If your work is physical media and light industry, the zone's edge over Dubai Media City is simply space — Media City is an office cluster with no warehousing. Against JAFZA the trade-off is scale: JAFZA gives you seaport access and large industrial plots for heavy manufacturing and bulk logistics, while Dubai Production City keeps you inside a media-licensed cluster with smaller, city-side units.
| Zone | Best for | Warehousing |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai Production City | Printing, packaging, publishing, media distribution | Yes, on-site |
| Dubai Media City | Digital media, PR, broadcasting, agencies | No |
| JAFZA | Heavy industry, import/export, logistics | Yes, at scale |
Choose Dubai Production City when your output is print and packaged media at mid scale; choose JAFZA when you need a seaport and a factory, and Media City when the work never leaves a screen.
Pick licensed activities and reserve a trade name. Activity choice drives approvals, banking and whether your income can be QFZP-qualifying.
Passports, application forms and a clean source-of-funds story. No local sponsor is needed — free zone companies are 100% foreign-owned.
The zone issues your licence (typically 10–14 business days), then the immigration establishment card that unlocks visa processing.
Entry permit, medical, Emirates ID for each visa holder; corporate account opening runs in parallel — this is usually the slowest step.
We reply with numbers — a line-by-line setup estimate for your case. Not a call script, not a brochure.