Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE), Oman, will invest US$142.8mn on a range of projects to develop the infrastructure of the countrys various industrial estates.
Hilal bin Hamad Al Hasani, CEO of the PEIE said that the Omani government is adopting a set of strategies to stimulate the manufacturing industries that have contributed to achieve a significant growth for the sector by contributing to the gross domestic product.
The projects
The projects include the development of the Sumail Industrial Estate, which is expected to begin operation in the first half of the current year, at a cost of US$78mn; projects in Raysut Industrial Estate (US$9.1mn), Nizwa Industrial Estate (US$10.4mn), in addition to the implementation of the Ring Road for the Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM).
"PEIE has also exchanged recently memoranda of understanding for the implementation of the integrated commercial project (Sur Gate), which will be established in the Sur Industrial Estate. The project is located on an area of more than 200,000 sqm and the total investment cost of the project is estimated at more than US$313mn. The first stage of the project's implementation will commence before the end of the year 2012," he added.
He informed that the total investments in the industrial estates have reached more than US$9.6 billion by the end of 2011, and the number of companies in these areas has exceeded 1,200.
Job opportunities
"By the end of the year 2011, the existing projects have provided around 32,000 job opportunities, while the percentage of the national male workforce has touched 41 per cent, and the Omani women workforce has touched 13 per cent," Al Hasani said.
PEIE goals
Al Hasani commented about PEIE's goals during the eighth development plan (2011-2015):"We seek to settle around 2,200 industrial projects, which will indicate a growth rate of up to 293 per cent, and hence the cumulative number of projects in the industrial estates will reach 2950. These projects would create 65,000 job opportunities, consisting of 22,000 jobs for the nationals, with a growth rate of up to 295 per cent, which will make the cumulative number of jobs around 87,000."
