A new free zone exclusively for media production houses is to be built be Dubai Media City (DMD), with work scheduled to start in October 2003 and be completed in 18 months.

The international Media Production Zone will come up on 35 million square feet of Greenfield and along Emirates Road. Initial investments on infrastructure alone will exceed Dh 400 million. The sums will far exceed Dh 1 billion with the signing up of new companies wishing to set up of operations there. Some major printing and publishing companies in Dubai are expected to set up operations free zone. In the Future, dedicated areas for music, films and broadcasting will be built, along with printing. Basic capital requirements for a free zone licence are Dh 500,000 for printing firms and Dh 300,000 for those in ancillary industries.