Heineken joint venture to build brewery in Dubai

Unsplash/George Bakos

• Sirocco JV plans 2027 opening
• Response to tourist demand
• Third brewery venture in UAE

Dubai is to follow Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah in opening its own brewery. 

Sirocco, a joint venture between the Dutch drinks company Heineken NV and the Emirates Group-owned Maritime and Mercantile International (MMI), will start construction on a new brewery, having secured all the necessary permits from the relevant local authorities, the company said in a statement. 

Construction is due to start by the end of 2025 and the brewery is expected to be operational by the end of 2027.

It will produce various beer brands including Heineken, the Indian brand Kingfisher, Amstel and the Italian brand Birra Moretti. 

Sirocco said the brewery will increase its employees in Dubai from 65 to around 190. 

“The move to local production will ensure Sirocco’s ability to meet growing tourism demand and provide a fresher beer experience with the same international standards,” said Georgios Polymenakos, general manager of Sirocco. 

“For our tourism and hospitality customers, local production will provide greater flexibility to local market demands.”

He said the brewery will help reduce the carbon footprint of its operations because of the reduction in sea freight.

The project will be funded by Sirocco from local borrowing and cashflow. 

Sirocco was founded more than 20 years ago as a joint venture between Heineken International and Emirates Group, which owns MMI, one of the main alcohol distributors in Dubai.

The brand also supplies Singapore’s Tiger, Scotland’s Brewdog, Estrella Damm from Spain and H41 from the Negherlands in the Gulf region. 

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The brewery is the third either opened or planned in the UAE. A microbrewery opened in Abu Dhabi in 2023 after a change to the law in the emirate that allows for alcohol to be made and consumed on licensed premises.

Falcon Brews, based in Ras Al Khaimah, announced plans to open a brewery as well as a bottling plant for spirits in the Al Hulaila Industrial Free Zone. The plant is planned to be completed by the end of 2026. 

The Dubai facility will be Heineken’s third brewery in the Middle East. It owns Al Ahram Beverages in Egypt and has a stake in Brasserie Almaza in Lebanon. It also has breweries in Algeria and Tunisia. 

The sale of alcohol in the UAE is more liberalised compared to neighbouring Gulf countries.

In January last year, Dubai suspended its 30 percent tax on alcohol in a move seen as a boost to tourism and to make the city more attractive to foreigners. 

The World Travel and Tourism Council said international visitors to the UAE will spend an estimated $52.2 billion this year, making it the tenth biggest recipient of inbound tourism spending globally.