Oman LNG community projects promote tourism and aid fishermen in Sur

Business Tuesday 21/November/2017 17:59 PM
By: Times News Service
Oman LNG community projects promote tourism and aid fishermen in Sur

Muscat: Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Shuhi, Minister of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, laid the foundation stone of two key projects funded by Oman LNG in Sur. This is part of the National Day celebrations. The projects include establishing a fishermen loading jetty at Al Barr and constructing a protection wall and walkway at Al Aijah.
The site visit by the minister comes to look at a number of projects currently implemented by the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources in Sur and acts as a follow-up to review the development stages of the work, where Oman LNG funded projects top the list of projects toured.
The support by the country’s liquefied natural gas flagship has broadened the company’s robust efforts that subsumes many facets of daily life under its social investment umbrella to improve the quality of life for people in the Sultanate.
Renowned for its fishing activities, Sur is believed to have an estimated 3,000 inhabitants involved in the fish trade, often drawing buyers from locations outside South Sharqiyah governorate. By funding the first project, the company will help construct fishermen jetty facilities at Al Barr area in Sur, which will allow fishermen easier access to unloading their daily catch. This project aims at supporting the fishing community in Sur.
Oman's agriculture and fishing sector remains one of the crucial pillars in the government's economic diversification efforts and is projected to increase the input of the non-petroleum industry to the country's gross domestic product in the coming years.
The second project includes the construction of a walkway and a retaining wall in the north side of Al Aijah, Sur. The walkway is one thousand and two hundred metres long, and six metres wide. The project will support a healthy life-style and is anticipated to draw an increasing number of visitors to the Wilayat, which is revered for its historical and marine attractions.
“These projects affirm Oman LNG’s unremitting efforts at developing the community in various facets, which promote and upgrade social welfare for different segments of the society. This, in turn, encourages building a strong and vibrant society that values and cares for its people. These projects meanwhile support the government's efforts in economic diversification,” said Hilal Al Sinani, Senior Manager of Public Relations and CSR in Oman LNG Development Foundation.
With its involvement in the nation’s social development in many spheres of life within the country, Oman LNG has successfully created a thriving template for modelling public-private sector partnerships that deliver many gains for the Sultanate and people of Oman.
Oman LNG has an ambitious vision and dedication towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as indicated by the launch of Oman LNG Development Foundation. The foundation addresses four key pillars of sustainable social development - corporate social responsibility delivered through, a community fund targeting initiatives related to the Sur community where its world-class, three-train liquefaction plant is located, a national fund that covers a large swath of the company’s social development programmes across the nation, and a reserve fund to provide continuity to ensure financial sustainability for current and future CSR projects. It also delivers value for Oman LNG by enhancing the brand and managing reputation and secure the future through collaborations and investments to collectively build self-sustaining organisations, businesses or institutions while simultaneously fulfilling the needs and demands of the society, Finally, the Centre of Excellence enables others to develop CSR initiatives through partnerships, knowledge sharing, funding and investment.
Oman LNG Development Foundation is a subsidiary of Oman LNG. Oman LNG operates as a joint venture with a shareholding structure comprising the Government of Oman (51 per cent), Shell Gas B.V (30 per cent), Total S.A. (5.54 per cent), Korea LNG (5 per cent), Mitsubishi Corporation (2.77 per cent), Mitsui & Co. (2.77 per cent), Partex (Oman) Corporation (2 per cent), and Itochu (0.92 per cent).