Foundation laid for $365m Philex Pharma at SFZ
manufacturing companies and export the products in GCC and African countries.
Commenting on the company’s in-country value (ICV), Hamad said: “Coming to Salalah is a well drafted decision for us. We took into consideration its strategic location and infrastructure development before making up our mind to invest.”
“For example, it is easy access to Yemen, all African countries and the GCC neighbours. It is easy to access other Middle Eastern countries from here. This gives us a situation to stay put and create job opportunity for the local people,” he said.
The company is likely to provide 300 jobs in all three phases. However, 35 per cent would be covered during the first phase and rest in two phases respectively.
The young generation, according to Hamad, would get exposure in pharmaceutical and parapharmaceutical sectors, which would generate new job opportunities for them.
Steve Ki Hong Sung, CEO of CTCBIO was happy with the infrastructure development of Salalah Free Zone and Salalah location, which, according to him, is a real gateway to the African countries.
“The pharmaceutical complex would certainly benefit from the Sultanate’s strategic location as a gateway to the Gulf region and its proximity to African markets, as there has been growth in demand for medicines in Gulf and East Africa region,” Sung said.