The Higher Corporation for Specialized Economic Zones (ZonesCorp), will dedicate its fourth industrial city to upstream industries including steel as it seeks to beef up the emirate's industrial base, the company's top official said on Monday.

"We're looking at the master plan for ICAD [Industrial City Abu Dhabi] 4, which will be mainly upstream businesses, steel and logistics," ZonesCorp chief executive officer Mohammad Al Qamzi told Zawya Dow Jones in an interview.

"We're looking at the inquiries coming to us, and we're talking to Emirates Steel," Al Qamzi said.

ZonesCorp provides licensing and infrastructure services for industries setting up in Abu Dhabi and is developing five industrial cities in the emirate, which holds almost all of the UAE's crude oil reserves. Abu Dhabi is investing heavily in industrial projects as part of plans to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons.

ICAD 4, which covers an area of more than 24 square km, will also be linked to the planned Union Railway, a cross-emirate freight rail line, according to Al Qamzi. A third industrial city, ICAD 3, which includes a polymers park for plastics conversion, is "in the process of being fully leased", he added. "We're also looking at the Western region, Al Ain and Ruwais, to see how we can develop the industrial part," he said.

Abu Dhabi's specialized economic zones may in the future benefit from a relaxation in foreign ownership rules, pending a federal company’s law and other legislation. "There's talk about it," Al Qamzi said on the possibility of 100 per cent ownership.