Sohar Industrial City saw a surge in investment activity, according to digital indices of the first quarter of this year (2023).

The industrial hub, affiliated with the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates “Madayn”, recently drew 24 applications for investment. Sixteen of the applications materialised in the form of contracts signed for investment in industrial, service and commercial sectors to the tune of RO44mn.

Sohar Industrial City houses 375 projects, with a total investment volume of RO2.2bn. The city, which has a total area of 30mn sq.m, employs 13,828 workers, of whom 41.7 per cent are Omanis.

Eng. Abdullah Ahmed Al Mayasi, Director General of Sohar Industrial City, said that “Madayn” has made great strides in completing a project to develop the 7th phase of the industrial city.

“Madayn completed 95 per cent of the project, which includes a 32-km road network, a water network and a sewerage network. This is in addition to a treatment plant with a capacity of 2,000 cubic metres, a rainwater drainage network, a dyke for protection against floods, an irrigation network and two water supply tanks having a total capacity of 2,700 cubic metres,” Al Mayasi added.

Al Mayasi explained that Madayn also floated a tender for a project to study and evaluate phases 1 to 6 in terms of existing infrastructure, development plans and services for a total area of more than 18mn sq.m. The upgrade covers the installation of security gates to raise the efficiency of loading and unloading operations and supply chains (namely by monitoring the entry and exit of trucks to and from the city).

Speaking about the Plastic Complex project, Al Mayasi pointed out that the project began to attract investments for producing polyethene and plastic bags, with investments worth RO 2 million. The project occupies an area estimated at 12,000 sq.m, said Al Mayasi, noting that the industrial city embarked on a cooperation bid with OQ Group to market the project abroad. The step includes organizing visits to major plastic manufacturers in different countries of the world and offering several incentives, he said.

Al Mayasi stressed that Sohar Industrial City plans to establish a solar cell plant with a capacity of 86 megawatts, as a first stage, to keep pace with the global transition to clean energy. The project, scheduled to be completed by 2025, is expected to contribute towards the realisation of Oman’s carbon neutrality strategy (zero carbon emissions) by 2050, he affirmed.