Times of Oman reported that a tender for developing an industrial estate in Samayil will be floated by the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates soon, as part of an apparent move to speed up regional development and thereby create job opportunities for Omani youths.

Mr Hilal bin Hamed al Hasni CEO of PEIE told Times of Oman that the total cost of developing the Samayil industrial estate, which is coming up almost 35 kilometers away from Rusayl, is estimated between OMR 25 million and OMR 30 million. The industrial estate will house 300 industrial units in a vast area of 7.8 million square meters. The new industrial estate has attracted significant investor interest.

He added that "More than 80 units have already signed agreements for starting business units within the industrial estate. Now we have reached the stage of floating a tender for building roads and other infrastructure facilities. Hopefully, we will start operation by the middle of 2013."

Mr Hilal bin Hamed al Hasni said that "We have separate areas for different industries like building materials, mineral producers and light industries. The area allocated for setting up building material companies has already been fully booked."

Mr Al Hasni said that some of the tenants have already started construction of industrial projects. He added that "We have already built roads and other basic facilities for them."

The PEIE chief also said a tender for developing an industrial estate in Ibri will be floated sometime before the middle of next year. There is an ample scope for setting up small and medium units using locally available material there. This region requires industries to create job opportunities for locals.

He said that moreover, since Ibri is close to the Saudi border, industrial units can export their finished products to the large Saudi market. He added that "This is a strategic location for setting up light industries, logistic centers and food processing industries, including poultry units."

Mr Al Hasni said with the growing demand for industrial plots, PEIE is trying to develop new industrial estates, besides expanding existing ones. More and more entrepreneurs are building industries, resulting in better demand for industrial plots, he said, adding that "The investment climate in Oman is very good and we have to create job opportunities."

(Sourced from www.timesofoman.com)