Raysut industrial zone attracts huge investment

Business Sunday 14/January/2018 14:09 PM
By: Times News Service
Raysut industrial zone attracts huge investment

Muscat: The total investment in Raysut Industrial Estate has crossed OMR415 million, according to Hamad bin Hamoud Al Qasabi, director general of Raysut Industrial Estate. “Although the estate has reached to its maximum capacity in terms of the area, the volume of investments is in constant growth as the companies are developing their production lines and capacity. This eventually reflects on the growing demand for Omani products due to their high quality, popularity, competitiveness and presence in several international markets,” Al Qasabi added.
Al Qasabi noted that the estate offers a lineup of services for the investors. These services comprise the provision of industrial, service, commercial land, provision of necessary infrastructure for the projects including roads, electricity, water, sanitation and telecom services. Indirect services are also offered through coordination with other relevant agencies in order to facilitate project procedures in the estate in aspects such as manpower, environment, commerce and industry.
Raysut Industrial Estate has registered more than 190 industrial, service and commercial projects by the end of 2017, of which 84 are currently operating, while the remaining are under construction or in the preparation phase of commencing construction. The main industries present in the estate include foodstuff, paper products, consumer goods, drinking water bottling, pharmaceuticals, medicines, building materials, in addition to the companies operating in the field of logistics and warehouses.
“These projects, in cooperation with the estate’s management, aim at recruiting Omani cadres. The number of Omani cadres working in the estate today has exceeded 800. The estate’s management continues to urge the factories to increase the recruitment of job seekers,” he said.
In addition, Al Qasabi said that the estate also provides several services for the factories in coordination with the management of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE) including free training for Omanis working in the factories. The estate also coordinates with the Ministry of Manpower to provide the suitable cadres to work in the factories. Additionally, the estate’s management aims at providing on-the-job training for the Omani youth in the factories in coordination with the higher education institutions in the governorate.
In line with the policy to provide 25,000 job opportunities for job seekers, Raysut Industrial Estate recently organised a meeting on the employment mechanism in the presence of a number of representatives of companies within the industrial estate. “The meeting reviewed the Omanisation rates in the estate and the companies have been urged to increase Omanisation. The meeting underlined that the industrial sector is required to employ 5,000 people and the fact that employment is based on the list of job seekers who have updated their data at the Ministry of Manpower,” he said.
Presently, the Omanisation rate is estimated at 32.5 per cent for the industrial sector. In the manpower database system, the data on Omanisation rates have been linked based on the sector and the activity of the company.
Referring to the major infrastructure projects that are currently underway in the estate, Al Qasabi said that the final tender documents for the development of Raysut 2 have been completed. “The project will be offered for tendering during the first quarter of 2018 and it is expected to be completed within 24 months once the work begins. The development includes construction of internal road network, entrances, exits, lighting, water and sewage network, sewage treatment plant, rainwater drainage system, and irrigation system,” he said. This development project comes at a time when the industrial sector is witnessing steady growth in the Sultanate’s various industrial estates. Therefore, there is a need to add more industrial estates and develop the current ones. “We are currently working with the competent bodies to add more areas to the industrial estate, and we are aiming at increasing the quantities of gas allocated for the projects in Raysut Industrial Estate,” he added.
Al Qasabi emphasised on the significance of the strategic location of Raysut Industrial Estate, which is adjacent to Salalah Free Zone and Port of Salalah. “This represents an added value and constitutes an integrated economic zone for easy exchange of projects, attraction of investors to the governorate and creation of diverse investment opportunities,” Al Qasabi noted.