New firm set up to give Oman dates sector a big boost

Muscat: The Diwan of Royal Court on Monday marked the establishment of Oman Dates Development Company, in cooperation with Oman National Investments Development Company (Tanmia).
The newly-established company will be the investment arm of the One Million Date Palm Trees Project, which was ordered by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
The ceremony was held under the auspices of Dr. Khamis bin Saif Al Jabri, Head of the Implementation and Follow up Support Unit.
Dr. Rashid bin Seif Al Shaqsi, Director General of the One Million Date Palm Trees Project delivered a speech where he expressed deep thanks and gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said who gave Royal orders to plant one million tree out of His Majesty’s belief in the importance of the date palm tree.
He added that His Majesty the Sultan affirmed that this project will enhance the food security in the Sultanate and contribute to enhancing the economic, social, cultural, and environmental resources of the Sultanate.
He pointed out that the world-class main complex of the company which will cost about OMR92 million will be set up in the Wilayat of Nizwa. The complex will include the central processing units, the secondary products-based industries and the innovative industries.
On his part, Sheikh Rashid bin Seif Al Mardhouf Al Saadi, CEO of Tanmia delivered a speech where he pointed out that the establishment of the company is the outcome of the close and constructive cooperation between the Diwan of Royal Court represented by the One Million Date Palm Tree Project and Oman National Investments Development Company (Tanmia) with direct support from the Implementation and Follow Up Support Unit.
The joint work pillars were established through the cooperation with specialised organisations and consultants to review the investment opportunities and prepare the technical and financial studies.
The U.K based Systemic Innovation, a specialised company in the field of innovation has been appointed to conduct the feasibility study for the date palm tree products and wastes in cooperation with the Industrial Innovation Centre.
The investment areas include producing assorted products extracted from date palm trees, such as juices and syrups. In addition, other by-products include natural coal, date palm lumbar, fodder and fertilisers. This will be carried out in cooperation with specialised investors in a bid to create high quality products that can compete at the world markets.
The project also aims at having a modern date palm tree sector in the Sultanate to ensure optimum utilisation of the available resources. It also seeks to create a modern date processing sector that uses the most advanced technological applications in products in parallel with the development of the traditional crafts for secondary products and maintaining the Omani heritage in this field.
The project also aims at enhancing the economic capabilities of the Omani agriculture in general and encouraging food processing.
The One Million Date Palm Trees Project aims to produce 96,000 tonnes of dates and about 56,000 tonnes of date palm products, such as fronds, trunks, trunk bases, offshoot and others.