Sohar Port industrial area attracts $21b investment
Deputy CEO of Sohar Industrial Port Company said the industrial area has grown into several industrial clusters, which include petrochemical, metal and food
MUSCAT: Sohar Port industrial area and its free zone have attracted $21 billion worth investment in the last one decade ever since industrial development started at the port, said a senior official of the port and free zone.
“So, you can imagine the rapid development and growth in this facility in Sohar. We took full advantage of the (strategic) location of Sohar, which is just outside the Strait of Hormuz. It is excellent for big ships, which can reduce their logistics costs,” said Jamal Aziz, deputy chief executive officer of Sohar Industrial Port Com- pany (SPIC), while addressing a function to sign an EPC contract for building Oman’s first sugar refinery here on Sunday.
Connectivity to Saudi, UAE
Aziz, who is also the chief executive officer of Sohar Freezone, said Sohar has road connectivity to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and by the end of 2018, there will be a railway connectivity to the markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council region.
Iranian market
“We focus on Saudi Arabia because Saudi is the largest market in the Gulf region. We want to make sure that we have a quick connectivity to the market. We also look very closely at the Iranian market because it will open up soon. And Oman can be the springboard for imports into Iran,” he explained.
Aziz also noted that Sohar industrial area has grown into several industrial clusters, which include petrochemical, metal and food. The petrochemical cluster will be further developed with the implementation of expansion and new petrochemical projects by Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries (Orpic). The food cluster, Jamal Aziz said, is strategic for the region since the region is a net importer of food items.
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