First sugar refinery to open in early 2018
State-of-the-art, modern sugar refinery will have a capacity of one million tonnes of refined sugar per annum
MUSCAT: Oman’s first sugar refinery will start operation in the first quarter of 2018, even as the promoters have signed a $300 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement with China’s Sinolight Corporation on Sunday to build the refinery at the Port of Sohar.
Construction work on the refinery will start in the third quarter of this year, said Ashwin D Rana, chief executive officer of Oman
Sugar Refinery Company (OSRC).
18 hectare plot
The new sugar refinery, which will have one million tonnes of refined sugar per annum and is coming up in an 18 hectare plot near Sohar Port, will have state-of-the-art, modern facility and will use the latest production technology to produce the highest quality refined sugar. The contract will be managed on behalf of OSRC by Bosch Projects of South Africa.
EPC contract
Rana said that the capital expenditure of $300 million, which is also the value of EPC contract, will be met by way of both equity and debt. An institutional investor from China will also partly fund the project.
According to the plan, the company will import raw sugar, refine it using different processes and the finished product of white sugar will be packed to sell it as a branded product. OSRC, which is using a proven technology, has several advantages, including a strategic location and port facilities.
OSRC earlier signed agreements for natural gas and for the land for building the factory.
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