Madayn inks investment agreement to set up vehicle trade centre

Muscat: The Public Establishment for Industrial Estates – Madayn signed an investment agreement with Al Alia Investment and Industry Company to establish vehicle trade centre on a total area of 53,000 sqm at Al Mazunah Free Zone.
The project, which is estimated at a total value of OMR400,000, will be specialised in trading, re-exporting and repairing vehicles, and providing a variety of automobile-related services.
The agreement was signed by Said bin Abdullah Al Balushi, Director General of Al Mazunah Free Zone, and Abdulmalik bin Hilal Al Bahri, Chief Executive Officer of Al Alia Investment and Industry Company.
Commenting on this agreement, Said Al Balushi, Director General of Al Mazunah Free Zone, stressed that automobile and auto parts industry is one of the key sectors that the free zone is currently focusing on its development. “Significant efforts are being made by Al Mazunah Free Zone to attract companies specialised in trading new and used vehicles,” Al Balushi said, adding: “The vehicle trade centre shall stimulate other automobile-related businesses such as vehicle repair workshops, spare parts, vehicle wash businesses, and related SMEs to provide their services. Besides, the project aims at providing job opportunities, boosting other economic sectors as well as stimulating the transportation sector and the Omani ports through which these vehicles are imported.”
On his part, Abdulmalik bin Hilal Al Bahri, CEO of Al Alia Investment and Industry Company, pointed out that the project aspires to add economic value through an integrated centre that serves the automobile sector and warehouses. “Al Mazunah Free Zone presents an attractive investment environment in a strategic location, and this project shall play a role in providing job opportunities for the Omanis,” Al Bahri commented.
It is worth mentioning that the total number of incoming vehicles to Al Mazunah Free Zone touched 2,066 by the end of March 2020, marking a growth rate that exceeds 500 per cent and an increase of 1736 vehicles compared to the same period of 2019. Since the beginning of April this year, an increasing trade movement has been observed in the free zone. The second quarter of the current year is expected to witness a major increase in the volume of goods and vehicles entering the free zone.