Saturday 11 / January / 2025
Muscat: A decision regarding the controls for organising and issuing environmental permits in the special economic zones and free zones in Oman was issued by Dr Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, Chairman of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ), on Sunday.
The controls have specified the procedures for obtaining environmental permits, as well as identified the projects that require preparing a detailed environmental assessment study for their potential impacts, Lubna bint Hamoud Al Sabari, Environmental Specialist at the OPAZ, said.
According to the decision, the projects established in the special economic zones and free zones have been classified into three categories based on their impacts to the environment and health of human beings, their nature, location, materials used in production and production capacity.
The First Category projects are required to submit their environmental and social impacts assessment study. Among the most prominent projects of this category are those related to the development and management of industrial plans, logistics storage sites, fishing ports and fish industries complexes, tourist villages with an area of 10 hectares or more, chemicals and oil storage tanks of around 5 hectares and more.
It also includes heavy industries, oil refineries, chemical and petrochemical industries, power plants, seawater desalination plants with a production capacity of over one million cubic metres per year.
Fish farming projects with a production capacity of more than 500 tonnes per year for the localised fish and any quantity of unusual species also come in its ambit.
The Second Category includes projects with medium environmental risk, which require submitting an environmental management plan.
However, the Third Category is for projects with low environmental risk, requiring compliance with the specified general and technical environmental requirements, while submitting an environmental and
social impact assessment study or an environmental management plan is not required.
Lubna Al Sabari, said, “Through this decision, OPAZ is intending to facilitate the procedures for investors and accelerate the issuance of environmental permits. For instance, the environmental permits for projects falling into the second and third categories are issued prior to establishing the projects.”
“These permits will be issued in five working days for the Third Category projects, while it takes 10 working days for the Second Category projects. However, for the projects that require developing an environmental assessment study, it takes a maximum of 30 working days for reviewing the environmental permit applications,” she added.
“This process serves to avoid the negative impacts of such projects, which require a thorough evaluation before granting the environmental permit.”
In accordance with the decision, the concerned Environmental Regulatory Department at the OPAZ shall categorise all chemicals based on the international classifications, including the global system for
classification and labelling of chemicals.
The Department also develops guidelines for all phases of the chemicals safe management procedures and compiles an inventory of banned and restricted chemicals and those dealing with these chemicals.
Moreover, the Department collects data and information related to the conditions of using, transporting, storing, handling and disposing chemicals.
“Projects must register the hazardous materials used, manufactured or produced as waste with the concerned department. As well, projects shall obtain the necessary permits to deal with chemicals as per the defined legal standards and controls and the procedures of Basel Convention,” Lubna Al Sabari said.
“Further, projects are required to provide the concerned department with information, maps and plans of the sites allocated for storing and using radioactive materials, which are approved by the concerned
authorities,” she added.
Lubna Al Sabari also stressed that the new decision prohibits the import or export of hazardous materials and any hazardous waste listed in the Basel Convention without obtaining a permit from the concerned department at OPAZ.
