Hilal bin Hamad al-Hassani, CEO of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE) said that PEIE has a plan to expand the presence of industrial estates in various governorates of the Sultanate.
He said in a statement to Oman News Agency (ONA) that work is currently underway in coordination with various government agencies, especially the Ministry of Housing,  to complete the allocation of lands for PEIE in the Wilayats of Thumrait, Al Mudhaibi and Shinas, in addition to Marmul and Qarn Al Alam, as they are currently being studied in collaboration with the Ministry of Oil and Gas, Petroleum Development Oman. He added that there is hard work for the development of the existing industrial estates in the Wilayats of Sur and Al Buraimi.
He added that PEIE has proposed certain locations to the Ministry of Housing to in the Wilayats of A’Suwaiq and Al Musana’ah, in addition to requests to extend the   some of the existing estates in Raysut, Nizwa and Sumail. He pointed out that Ibri Logistic Area has been changed as the area’s location has become part of A’Dhahirah special economic zone as work is currently underway with the Supreme Council for Planning on this regard.
He added that there are approximately / 900 / existing and producing projects currently in the industrial zones in the Sultanate, which employ more than 15.000 citizens , and there are 242 projects under construction that will enter the production and operating stage during a period not exceeding 24 months and thus will provide 12,000 job opportunities, of which 4,500 for the citizens.
Hilal bin Hamad al-Hassani, CEO of PEIE pointed out that lands were allocated for more than 500 projects, adding that they are expected to enter production and operation stage during the next three years and they will provide more than 25,000 job opportunities, including 9000 jobs for the citizens. This means that the projects under construction or those that have been allocated lands will provide more than 14,000 job opportunities for Omanis over the next three years, expressing his hope that the number of Omanis working in industrial estates in the Sultanate will reach more than 30,000 citizens at the end of the Ninth Five-Year Plan.
He explained that PEIE, through development of various industrial estates in the Sultanate does not only focus on direct jobs and employment in existing companies, but seeks to provide self-employment opportunities through small and medium enterprises that provide investment opportunities for entrepreneurs.
He added that the volume of investment in industrial zones in the Sultanate exceeded  RO5 billion, hoping for higher investments in industrial estates in the coming years by focusing on value-added and relevant sectors of comparative advantage to activate the export role in the Sultanate to be the focus of the world station.
He stressed that work is well underway in each industrial estate in various governorates of the Sultanate with investors through communication with Contact Center at PEIE and the website, adding that PEIE is providing fertile ground for entrepreneurs through the National Business Centre and the Industrial Innovation Centre, which is providing its services to existing industries to develop and improve their performance.