Oman's Sohar Industrial Estate to Commence Seventh Phase of Expansion

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Oman Daily Observer reports that the Sohar Industrial Estate (SIE), Oman's fastest-growing economic hub, is all set to embark on its seventh phase of expansion operations, which is expected to add about 780 hectares of land to the already sprawling estate campus. The estate zone has been of great investment interest to major industrial establishments in the region that are looking to set up shop in the vicinity of the Sohar Port. There are six such industrial estates in the Sultanate of Oman, which function under the purview of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Rusayl, Oman).

The National Engineering Office (NEO) (Muscat, Oman), a prominent consultancy firm, has been chosen to develop the necessary infrastructure for the entire site, which is expected to house several small- and medium-size manufacturing units involved in the production of wood and steel products as well as construction material. The site identified for the seventh phase of expansion is located a little further from the proposed Batinah Expressway route that links Barka to Shinas. This seems to be an ideal destination for trading and shipping firms looking for office and warehouse space. Apart from other facilities, NEO will also develop surface transport networks, utility corridors for the supply of essentials such as water, gas and power, telecommunication systems, and sewage lines in the zone.

The SIE is currently home to about 70 establishments involved in the production of goods catering to the domestic industrial sectors. The product range includes glass, marble, steel bars, resins, furniture, leather goods, cleaning agents, detergents, toothpaste, food, beverages and ice creams. Also, the SIE has about 40 ongoing projects and 60 other projects under consideration. The SIE has received several lease applications from firms across various sectors that are interested in setting up operations at the estate.

The highlight of the estate is the 360,000-ton-per-year smelter of Sohar Aluminium (Sohar, Oman), which is the lifeline of the Metals Park, located in the 1.72 million-square-meter Phase VI zone. The Metals Park is an exclusive venture related to downstream aluminum processing investments, and was set up as a part of Phase VI development. The layout of the park has been planned on functional lines, with one-third of the land being set aside for "first tier" units relying on hot metal from Sohar Aluminium's smelter, while the remaining area is allotted to "second tier" units working on first tier outputs to produce value-added finished aluminum goods.

The state-owned startup, Takamul Investment Company (Muscat) is actively involved in Phase VI projects, promoting all five ventures in the zone. Takamul is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) and Oman Oil Company SAOC (Muscat), with stakes of 5% and 90%, respectively, with the remaining 5% owned by another United Arab Emirates-based company.

The SAG Sohar project is one of the earliest ventures at the Metals Park. The venture, jointly executed by Salzburger Aluminium AG (Lend, Austria) and Takamul, is involved in the production of aluminum busbars using hot metal from Sohar Aluminium's smelter. The 30,000-ton-per-year project commenced operations in March 2008.

Two India-based companies, Future Metals Private Limited (Bangalore, Karnataka) and Europan, have also established joint ventures with Takamul at the Metals Park.

Future Takamul Metals LLC, formed by a 70:30 partnership between Future Metals and Takamul, recently completed work on the engineering and design of its new 30,000-ton-per-year deoxidized rod plant at the Metals Park. Built on a plot of 114,000 square meters, the plant will produce deoxidized aluminum rods specific to the steel industry. The Europan Takamul combine is setting up a 30,000-ton-per-year plant on a site of 120,000 square meters to produce aluminum billets and extrusions. The project will comprise a large-scale billet maker with a vertical caster unit, in addition to the aluminum extrusion plant.

Takamul, in collaboration with Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Company (Manama, Bahrain) and ADWEA, plans to build a rolling mill at the Metals Park. This is reportedly the largest investment at SIE's Metals Park. The facility will have a capacity of 80,000 tons per year, and is expected to increase Oman's prospects in both the global and regional aluminum rolled products sector. Project management activities will be handled by Siemens VAI Metals Technologies GmbH & Co (Linz, Austria).

The Metals Park also comprises an aluminum conductor cable manufacturing plant being developed by Oman Aluminium Processing LLC (OAPIL), a joint venture company formed by Oman Cables Industry (MSM:OCAI) (Muscat, Oman) and Takamul. Catering primarily to the export market, the 48,000-ton-per-year plant is slated to commence production by the end of this year. Takamul has a 49% share in the venture, while the 51% balance is held by OAPIL.

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