Muscat: The Khazaen Economic City, the upcoming and most dynamic economic city in the Sultanate, has announced the signing of three new tenancy agreements valued at nearly RO3 million.

These agreements were signed recently with United Vision for Investment and Development and Al Maha Food Industries LLC, an Omani-Saudi joint venture to establish several manufacturing units in the economic city.

Under the three agreements, Khazaen will lease about 27,000 m2 to United Vision for Investment and Development, and to Al Maha Food Industries LLC, to build seven manufacturing units for bottling drinking water, ice production, manufacturing of water bottles, sweets factory, production of tomato ketchup and baby-related products, in addition to a factory for plastic related products.

The agreements were signed by Khalid Awadh al-Balushi, CEO of Khazaen Economic City, Khalifa al-Kindi, CEO of United Vision for Investment and Development; and a representative from Al Maha Food Industries LLC.

Khazaen Economic City has recently completed the first phase of its infrastructure works, laying the ground for more companies to access its modern facilities. The latest joint venture underlines the City’s strengths in terms of incentives, location, convenience, and value on investment.

“The signing of these agreements constitutes a strong addition to the projects already at Khazaen. It also affirms the confidence of local and foreign investors in Khazaen as an ideal and new destination for various businesses. It also reflects the efforts made by Khazaen to attract more investments, especially after the recent completion of the first phase of the infrastructure works,” commented CEO of Khazaen Economic City.

“Diverse projects such as these manufacturing units are very important to bring foreign investment to the Sultanate, but also contribute towards creating more job opportunities for the local Omani youth and supporting the government’s economic diversification plans,” he added.

Khalifa al-Kindi, CEO of United Vision for Investment and Development, said: “Khazaen Economic City is a unique destination for us as investors due to key advantages it provides such as its strategic location and proximity to the main road networks, seaports, and various land ports”.

“The company, in collaboration with its partners from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, plans to commence operations of the planned factories before the end of next year,” he added.

United Vision Company for Investment and Development and Al Maha Food Industries LLC are among the leading groups in the field of investment and food-related industries. The companies are active in varied fields, the most important of which are the production of materials, consumer goods, and various food-related supplies.

Khazaen has rolled out a package of incentives earlier this year to stimulate further investments despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

These incentives include exemption from rental fees for certain periods and waiver from some administrative fees. Investors and companies interested in investing in Khazaen can still avail these benefits until the end of 2020.

Khazaen is Oman’s most recent integrated economic city being developed in Barka, South Al Batinah Governorate. The City is strategically located near the capital city of Muscat, is only 30 minutes from Muscat International Airport, and some two hours from Sohar Port.

Khazaen will be linked through the proposed railway project in the future, making it an ideal location with multimodal transport options. Khazaen is the ideal logistics, warehousing, light industrial, and commercial hub linking the main modes of transportation in and out of Oman.

The new integrated economic city will be the home of Oman’s new dry port, besides multi-mix residential units, entertainment facilities, retail outlets, international schools, and modern health care centers.