September 08, 2008

Sugar plant to be set up at Port of Sohar in Oman

Khaleej Times reported that Al Hafri Sugar Refinery Company will set up an ultra modern sugar refinery in the Port of Sohar in Oman's Batinah region in about 2 years' time. The project is estimated to cost around OMR 80 million.

Agreements for establishing the project were signed by Mr Sayyid Asaad on behalf of the promoters, while Mr Maqbool bin Ali Sultan minister of commerce and industry & chairman of Sohar Industrial Port Company, signed for the Port of Sohar. Mr Sultan said that "It will create economies of scale which will make the use of the port more economic for all present and future users and investors."

With a capacity of 660,000 tonnes of white sugar per year, the plant, that will be based on France's Cordonnier technology, is expected to start production by March 2010. Molasses, the raw material, will be mainly imported from Brazil. The integrated refinery complex, construction on which is due to start soon, will come up on an area of 15 hectares within the port.

The refinery is designed to meet growing local and regional demand, but Europe and Africa will be targeted for the surplus product. The Sultanate currently imports all its requirements of sugar, estimated at about 120,000 tonnes annually.