Chinese SUV maker plans auto plant in Oman
Chinese specialist automaker Wuhan Xiaolong Automotive Technology Co Ltd says it is making headway in the establishment of a major plant at the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Duqm dedicated to the manufacture of high-mobility SUVs for civilian and military use.
The estimated $84 million project is presently in the early phases of development at a site allocated with the China-Oman Industrial Park which was formally inaugurated at the SEZ in April this year.
The company’s general manager, Ou Guosheng, said the project is currently in the design phase. He told the Duqm Economist, the newsletter of the Duqm SEZ Authority (SEZAD), that the promoters have already met two key milestones in the development of the project: firstly, the completion of the soil and geographical investigations covering the site, and secondly, the signing of the partnership agreement with Oman Wan Fang LLC — the Chinese-led developer of the China-Oman Industrial Park.
The plant is presently being designed to suit the project’s specs, the newsletter quoted Guosheng as stating.
The SUV manufacturing plant was among 10 projects that were unveiled on April 19, 2017 as part of an initial portfolio of Chinese industrial investments firmed up for implementation at the China-Oman Industrial Park in Duqm.
Wuhan Xiaolong Automotive Technology Co Ltd, one of the 10 investors, is a vehicle manufacturer based in Wuhan City in China’s Hubei Province.
The company manufactures a wide array of automotive products under the ‘Xiaolong’ label.
The list includes off-road communications command vehicles, road testing vehicles, energy saving test vehicles, special purpose vehicles, police vehicles and special transport vehicles.
The proposed facility in Duqm will target an output of 10,000 highmobility SUVs per annum, of which 9,000 units will be for civilian use, and the remaining 1,000 for mili- tary purposes. Envisaged in Phase 2 of the project is an ‘electromechanical industrial hub’ that will provide industrial support for large automotive ventures, the general manager said.
Target export markets, Guosheng added, include countries in the Middle East, Africa, South America and Asia, besides police establishments and the armed forces of China.
Investments totalling in excess of $3 billion were pledged at the formal establishment of the China-Oman Industrial Park last April. Oman Wanfang LLC, representing a consortium of six corporations from China’s Ningxia Province, is the main developer of the sprawling 1,172-hectare park at the SEZ.
They include a mega methanol and methanol-to-olefins (MTO) scheme, major power plant, world-scale solar equipment manufacturing facility, oilfield goods and pipeline plants, and a sprawling hospitality venture.