High-mobility vehicle factory set to come up in sultanate
$84mn project to produce 9,000 units for civilian use and 1,000 for military
Oman will be joining a small number of countries that currently manufacture high-mobility vehicles (HMVs) once the Wuhan Xiaolong factory comes up in the China-Oman Industrial Park in Duqm.
The HMV project was among the nine major projects that were announced and agreements signed to the tune of US$3.2bn in the China-Oman Industrial Park at the Special Economic Zone in Duqm (SEZD) in April.
Since then, considerable progress has been made on the project. Ou Guosheng, general manager of Wuhan Xiaolong Automotive and Technology, said that three stages have been completed. “The first is the soil and geographical surveys, the second signing the partnership agreement with Wanfang Oman Company, and the third stage is site design to suit the needs of the factory,” he said in the latest issue of Duqm Economist, SEZAD’s newsletter.
Guosheng expressed his pleasure for signing the partnership agreement with Wanfang Oman Company, the firm behind the development of the ChinaOman Industrial Park, that allows Wuhan Xiaolong to set up a factory for the production of HMVs.
He added that the company would invest US$84mn in the project, the first of its kind in the Middle East. “Manufacturing high-mobility vehicles is a heavy industry. Wuhan Xiaolong will manufacture all the tools and spare parts for the vehicles,” he said.
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