Dr. Ali Masoud Al Sunaidy, Chairman of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) pointed out that the volume of investments in the 13 existing zones, supervised by OPAZ, reached RO 15.2 billion (USD 39.5 million), constituting a growth rate of 6% in 2021.
This came during the annual media briefing of OPAZ to highlight the achievements of 2022 in various fields, as well as to unveil the curtain over OPAZ’s strategy and the goals of its plan for 2023.
Al Sunaidy added that after transferring the affiliation of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn) to OPAZ in June 2022, the Authority supervises (13) existing zones. Those zones comprise, the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD) and (3) free zones in Sohar, Salalah and Al Mazunah, and (9) existing industrial cities operated by (Madayn).”
He added that there are (8) various new zones under development and study. The Integrated Economic Zone in Al Dhahirah Governorate, which is under planning and development, will be among the promising upcoming zones.
Al Sunaidy said, “In the field of financial sustainability, OPAZ was able to reprogram the financing agreements and provide financing coverage for a number of infrastructure projects to the tune of RO 46 million without the need to refer to the government’s treasury. It is also working to benefit from the savings of financing agreements after completing some infrastructure projects with a maximum of up to RO 50 million by using old loans instead of getting new loans at the meantime. This will assist in covering urgent projects, which include lifestyle development, as well as projects related to enabling the SEZAD to provide infrastructure services for the renewable energy sector.”
On his turn, Eng. Ahmed Hassan Al Dheeb, Deputy Chairman of OPAZ said that RO 300 million have been earmarked for projects in various zones.
He added that the total number of usufruct agreements signed during 2022 reached over 130 agreements. The number of workers in the special economic zones and free zones exceeded 74,000 workers, while the number of existing projects in all zones stands at over 3,000 projects.
Al Dheeb further said that progress is underway to prepare the layout for the integrated economic zone in the Governorate of Al Dhahirah, which is set on an area of 355 square kilometers, including the dry port, the light and small industries area, the business area and residential facilities. Work in the first phase of the project is set up on an area of 20 square kilometers of the layout.
He elaborated that some of the zones which are currently under development include the Special Economic Zone in Al Rawadha on a total allocated area of 56 square kilometers and the Free Zone at Muscat International Airport on a total allocated area of 1.7 square kilometers.
Moreover, Hamad Hamoud Al Qasabi, Acting CEO of Madayn said that the industrial cities, which are spread in various governorates, registered a total volume of investments of RO 7.1 billion till the end of December 2022. The total number of manpower stands at 50,267 and an Omanisation rate of 41%.
In his turn, Eng. Ali Salim Al Ma’ashani, Director General of Al Mazunah Free Zone said that Al Mazunah Free Zone is the first free zone in the Sultanate of Oman. The total volume of investments in the zone reached RO 138 million till the end of December of 2022. The total number of manpower stands at 726 with an Omanisation rate of 14%.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ali Mohammed Tabook, CEO of Salalah Free Zone said that the total volume of investment in Salalah Free Zone reached RO 3.8 billion. The total number of manpower stands at 2,490 with an Omanisation rate of 38%.
Further, Eng. Omar Mahmoud Al Mahrazi, CEO of Sohar Free Zone said that the total volume of investments in Sohar Free Zone stands at RO 476.7 million till the end of December 2022. The total number of manpower stands at 2,556 with an Omanisation rate of 44%.
Eng. Ahmed Ali Akaak, Acting Director of the Special Economic Zone at Duqm pointed out that the total volume of investments at SEZAD reached RO 3.6 billion till the end of December 2022. The total number of manpower stands at 18,624 with an Omanisation rate of 17.2%.
The media briefing was attended by several officials from OPAZ, as well as a number of media persons and journalists.
Source: Oman News Agency