The free zones group, which runs Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai, will invest $400m in a logistics park in the US state of South Carolina. The company expects its project to proceed this year.

The company is also preparing plans to build logistics parks in China and India, although details remain vague.

“We have to proceed cautiously in the circumstances, but these are projects that we are prioritising in 2009,” says Khaled Ahmed, vice-president of strategy and development at Jebel Ali Free Zone and Economic Zones World.