Total investments in Khazaen Economic City reach RO 410 million

Total investments in Khazaen Economic City reach RO 410 million by end 2023

Barka: The total volume of investments in Khazaen Economic City in the Wilayat of Barka in the South Al Batinah Governorate by the end of 2023 reached RO 410 million, or about 1 billion US dollars, through the signing of 115 investment agreements. Data issued by Khazaen Economic City showed that the volume of foreign investments reached RO 225 million at the end of last year, and the volume of local investments reached 185 million Omani riyals, and the number of nationalities of investors is 17 from different countries of the world.

Eng. Salem bin Sulaiman Al Dhahli, CEO of Khazaen Economic City, said that Khazaen Economic City contributes to the domestic product through several strategies, most notably economic diversification and the localization of priority industries in several main sectors, such as the logistical, food, industrial, and pharmaceutical sectors, the technology and business sector, and the clean energy sector, in addition to attracting… Quality local and foreign investments with added value and increasing local spending on goods and services.

Quality investments in the city also contribute to creating commercial opportunities for small and medium enterprises and job opportunities for national cadres in various promising sectors.

He explained that attracting foreign and local investments is done through several strategies, the most important of which is the localization of industries and priority projects that facilitate the investor’s journey in the city, most notably the workers’ village project, which is one of the sustainability solutions in the city by achieving complementarity in providing social infrastructure services that achieve the concept of work and living and entertainment within the city by providing subsistence, health, shopping and sports services, with an investment value amounting to RO 12 million.

The construction work in the workers’ village is expected to be completed during the middle of the current year 2024, as the completion rate of work in it reached 75 percent, in addition to the “Medicine City” project, which It will contribute to achieving the Sultanate of Oman’s strategy for pharmaceutical security, establishing an integrated complex for medical industries and their supplies, and achieving integration between educational outcomes in the pharmaceutical sector and labor market requirements, noting that the pharmaceutical city will include laboratories, advanced medical research centers, factories for pharmaceuticals and their supplies, and centers for storing, distributing, and importing medications and medical equipment.

The CEO of Khazaen Economic City confirmed that Khazaen Economic City supports the food security strategy with its attractive investment opportunities in the food sector, so that the investment strategy in Khazaen Food City aims to cover the increasing demand for food in the local, Gulf and international markets, in addition to developing the value-added food industry system. Strengthening supply and cooling chains, the most important components of which is the Khazaen Central Market for vegetables and fruits, which is considered a platform for exporting, importing, packaging, marketing and distributing vegetables and fruits.

He stated that the percentage of work completed in the Khazaen Central Market for vegetables and fruits reached 95 percent, and it contributes to strengthening supply chains and central refrigeration, attracting foreign and local companies to invest in the food sector, and opening a marketing platform for local products.

As for the second component of the Food City, it is the food industries, packaging, and transshipment area, in addition to the Integrated markets and value-added industries in the food sector. Engineer Salem Al-Dahli explained that the operating rate in a number of projects reached 100 percent, most notably: Khazaen Land Port, the logistical center of the Qatari Gulf Warehousing Company, the Julphar operations center, the fuel factory, the National Paper Products Factory, the logistical center of the Saudi Naqel Express Company, and the Omani Nol Company.

He stated that the city is witnessing the start of construction work on qualitative investments, most notably the Salalah Mills Factory for frozen baked goods, the Jana International Factory for tools, packaging supplies, and plastic bags, and the expansion of the Woqod Biofuel Company in Khazaen Economic City.

The CEO of Khazaen Economic City explained that one of the most prominent investment agreements that were signed during the past year was the agreement to establish the first “integrated truck rest station” in the Sultanate of Oman with the National Gas Company, in addition to signing an agreement with the Qatari company Sarco to establish an integrated logistics complex.

An agreement was signed with Biogenmix Company to establish an integrated factory for the production of insulin and vital medicines, an agreement to establish an integrated industrial complex in the field of food manufacturing with Al-Moataz Al-Barir Investment Company, and an agreement to establish integrated logistical complexes supporting the food sector with Aamal Taraf Trading Company.

He added that the city is expected to witness the start of the implementation and operation phase of many qualitative projects during the current year 2024, and the number of new investors is expected to increase in various major sectors due to the city’s readiness to attract local and foreign investments.