Sultan opens Sharjah Publishing City

The city includes more than 20 conference rooms, stores, service facilities, a data centre and many more.

His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, inaugurated Sharjah Publishing City (SPC) on Monday. The major project from the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) aims to provide an investment environment for publishers from around the world through its provision of world-class publishing services that include printing, licensing and distribution.
Spread over 40,000 square metres, the SPC provides 300 furnished offices for business owners and publishers and an area of 6,000 metres for investors who wish to create their own spaces. 
The city includes more than 20 conference rooms, stores, service facilities, a data centre, a public administration branch of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Sharjah and an array of other services that have been tailor-made for publishers. 
After the inauguration, Dr Sheikh Sultan visited offices at the SPC while Ahmed Al Ameri, Chairman of SBA, gave him a brief about the city and its services. Al Ameri said the city, in its first phase, can accommodate 550 publishing institutions, with its data centre platform containing the content of 16 million books in different languages in a format that publishers can easily reprint, update and modify. 
Dr Sheikh Sultan also witnessed two signing ceremonies during the inauguration; the first between the SBA and the Arab Writers Union (AWU), which stipulates the establishment of a new AWU headquarters at the SPC, and the second between the SBA and the Emirates Writers Union (EWA), which provides for the translation of the works of 40 Emirati authors from Arabic into English, French and Brazilian, with the genres to include poetry, stories, novels and research works. 
"The SPC provides an invaluable opportunity for publishers and book industry stakeholders as it is a multi-amenity base from which they can develop and expand their businesses. It addresses the needs of all publishing institutions and firms in terms of licensing, printing, distribution and transport. It also capitalises on Sharjah's strategic location, its connection to the world and the array of facilities the emirate provides investors from around the world," said Al Ameri.
Al Ameri pointed out that the SPC has received applications from more than 150 bodies in the publishing sector and has formed clear plans to create a printing capacity of one million books a day in its forthcoming stages. He stated that the SPC represents a fundamental paradigm shift in the publishing industry and is in line with the vision of the UAE that aims to enhance its position in all sectors.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com
 

• UAE
• Sharjah