Agreements to develop Chinese industrial zone to be signed in Duqm

Muscat: As many as nine major agreements to develop an industrial zone in Duqm will be signed by a Chinese firm with the Special Economic Zone Authority in Duqm later today.

A foundation stone laying ceremony for building the proposed industrial zone will also be held today.

The industrial zone is coming up in an area of 1,172 hectares of land within the Duqm free zone in Al Wusta region and the Chinese companies are expected to invest a whopping $10 billion in the next five years.

The agreements, which are signed by Oman Wanfang and Sezad, are related to the development of major projects, including a pipe manufacturing unit, a power plant and a tourism complex, according to an official.

These agreements will also allow the Chinese company to manage, market and attract Chinese investments to set up light and medium industries, petrochemical ventures, logistics units, warehouses, real estate projects and hospitals within Duqm free zone.

The signing ceremony will be held under the auspices of His Highness Sayyid Taimoor bin Asaad bin Tariq Al Said and will be attended by Wang Heshan, deputy governor of Ningxia, a province in China.

A major Chinese delegation, mainly potential investors at the free zone, is also accompanying Wang Heshan.