Italian export credit agency Sace has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dubai Aviation City Corporation (DACC) to provide €1bn ($1.14bn) of credit for the Dubai South development.

Dubai South, formerly Dubai World Central, comprises the Expo 2020 site, Al-Maktoum International airport and an aviation hub, as well as residential, commercial and logistics areas. Altogether the development covers 145 square kilometres.

The credit line will finance the purchase of goods and services from Italian companies.

The agreement is expected to open up opportunities for Italian small to medium-sized enterprises and hi-tech companies providing smart technology.

“The development at Dubai South is massive; we intend to deploy future-proof, state-of-the-art technologies with the underlying principle of being eco-friendly and sustainable,” Khalifa al-Zaffin, executive chairman of DACC.

“This requires use of expertise in various fields from the global players of the industry. We have been using on a continued basis Italian technology as well as materials and goods in our developments including Dubai International airport.

“We welcome Italian businesses to contribute to this great development with the support of Sace, which has been interacting with us together with other Italian agencies to bring a fruitful partnership.”

UK Export Finance has also offered Dubai Airports Engineering Projects (DAEP) up to $2bn of export credit guarantees for work on airport projects in the emirate. DAEP has yet to reach a decision on taking up the credit or going ahead with a massive expansion of the Al-Maktoum airport. Expected to cost $32bn, it will have an annual capacity of 120 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo.

Sace also signed an MoU with Abu Dhabi Ports to enhance business cooperation.

“Khalifa Port is an expression of the economic and industrial diversification strategy of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, to which Italian companies can contribute with their know-how in key sectors,” says Alessandro Castellano, CEO of Sace. “The agreement signed today with Abu Dhabi Ports opens important new growth opportunities for Made in Italy in the UAE, where our companies export €5bn in goods and services.”

Sace has also agreed $3bn of export credit for Iran’s investment and development plans, covering construction, infrastructure and industrial projects.