Tour of Oman from Feb 13
The Sultanate is planning big on date palm-related products. Next year, it plans to set up factories dealing with products focusing on employing Omani youth, said Dr Saif bin Rashid al Shaqsi, Director-General of Million Date Palm Plantation Project.
Al Shaqsi told the Observer the Diwan of Royal Court is finalising an innovative study on using date palms and their residues, in cooperation with Industrial Innovation Centre, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The implementation, however, will be supported by Oman National Investments Development Company ‘Tanmia’.
“It will focus on five products. Two to three factories will be concerned with the manufacture, production and distribution of products from 11 farms as part of the Million Palms Project,” he added.
“We are also collaborating with an international organisation to help provide external expertise.”
The One Million Date Palm Project is a translation of His Majesty’s vision to preserve natural wealth and revive tradition. It is considered one of the pioneering projects in the Sultanate because of the outcomes it will achieve economically, socially, environmentally and on nutrition level. Tour of Oman 2018 international cycling race will be held between February 13 and 18 as part of the Muscat Festival activities, said the Muscat Municipality. This will be ninth edition of the annual event. Over the years, Tour of Oman has been a successful event that attracted the attention of global sports community. The racing routes f or the tour are generally designed to highlight the various tourist attractions in the country. The 2017 Tour of Oman was won by Belgium’s Ben Hermans as part of the BMC Racing Team; Hermans took the race lead after winning the second stage of the race, and further extended his lead with a victory in the queen stage of the race, finishing at Jebel Al Akhdhar. Hermans won the race by 22 seconds ahead of Portuguese rider Rui Costa, who finished second on two stages during the race.