Al Mazunah Free Zone offers ideal business environment

Business Sunday 24/November/2019 16:30 PM
By: Times News Service
Al Mazunah Free Zone offers ideal business environment

Muscat: Al Mazunah Free Zone, which is affiliated to the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates –Madayn, is witnessing rapid developments in terms of infrastructure development, increasing number of projects and trade movement.
Investors, business owners and entrepreneurs in the free zone have emphasised on the role played by Al Mazunah Free Zone in contributing to the national economy in general, which reflects positively on the wilayat of Al Mazyunah.
Musallam Zaabanoot, founder and owner of Safe Transit for Trade and Services, said that his company was initiated through an office that tracks the transactions of investors in Al Mazunah Free Zone such as services related to commercial records, work permits and visas.
“The company has expanded further and it has an office that provides clearance services. We seek in the future to provide all the services required by the companies operating in the free zone such as transportation of goods, construction services and other services,” Zaabanoot pointed out.
He added that Al Mazunah Free Zone presents a great opportunity for the people of the wilayat of Al Mazyunah. “Many of the youth population in Al Mazyunah today operate their projects, which have contributed to the provision of many job opportunities. These projects comprise offices of import and export, construction services, sanad, transactions’ tracking, shipping and unloading, equipment rental, customs clearance, among many other projects,” Musallam Zaabanoot said.
Mohamed Zaabanoot, an investor in Al Mazunah Free Zone, noted that the incentives and facilities offered by the free zone are encouraging for the investors. On his part, Mohamed Al Harizi, owner of Abu Shmael Trading, emphasised that the one-stop-station at Al Mazunah Free Zone is making significant efforts to ease the procedures for the investors in a fast manner.
Faiz Al Mahri, a researcher at Al Mazunah Free Zone, underlined the strategic location of the free zone, which allows it to be a key gateway of the GCC countries to enter Yemen and East African markets. “The ideal location of the free zone contributes to the attraction of various industries to localise their projects and create new job opportunities for the citizens,” Al Mahri said, adding: “I am currently conducting a study which shows that there are opportunities for the flow of foreign capital in the free zone, growth of the number of projects, expansion of target markets, in addition to the increasing role of the free zone in diversifying sources of the national income.”
Mabkhout Al Mahri, the owner of a commercial promotion office in the free zone, said that the office is responsible for promoting Omani products produced in Al Rusayl Industrial City. “The office aims at facilitating the access of these products to the Yemeni and African markets,” Al Mahri informed.
It is worth mentioning that Al Mazunah Free Zone aims at attracting local and international investments to increase the volume of trade exchange, attract advanced technologies, and create job opportunities. General incentives are offered to investors in the free zone, including customs’ exemptions, 100 per cent foreign ownership, no minimum capital requirements, and Omanisation rate stands at 10 per cent. Other incentives include easy access of individuals and investors to the free zone without entry visas being required for Yemenis, facilitation of employing Yemeni workforce without work visa being required, in addition to other incentives.