09/02/2014 09:51 AST
Hilal bin Hamad Al Hasani, the CEO of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE), said that the celebrations of the Omani Industry Day, which falls on February 9 every year, come at a time when the PEIE is witnessing remarkable growth for fifth year in a row. The total number of projects hosted at the industrial estates now stands at 1,360, involving investments worth OMR4.5 billion.
In a statement to the Oman News Agency (ONA), he said that the number of workers were more than 35,000, including 13,793 Omanis.
As for achievements in 2013, he said the PEIE managed to attract 109 projects to achieve a remarkable growth rate of 9.0 per cent, taking the number of total projects at the industrial areas to 1,240 by the end of 2013, up from 1,133 at the end of 2012. In 2013 alone, 35 projects became operational, taking the number of existing projects at the industrial estates to 629 as of 2013 end, compared to 594 the previous year. The number of projects under construction at the end of 2013 was 201, compared to 184 at the end of 2012, registering a growth of 9.0 per cent.
The leased land amounted to 1,050 square metres, representing a growth of four per cent. The total leased spaces were spread over 27,364,000 square metres at the end of 2013, compared to 26,314,000 square metres at the end of 2012.
Referring to those employed at the industrial areas in 2013, he said their number was 2,257, thus jacking up the total workers' number to 34,153 by the end of 2013, compared to 31,896 at the end of 2012.
The investments at the industrial estates grew by two per cent or OMR83 million, raising their total value to OMR4,470 million, compared to OMR4,387million in 2012. The local investments represented 51 per cent of the total investments valued at OMR2,280, compared to 14 per cent or OMR626 million for Gulf investments and 35 per cent or OMR1,565 million for foreign investments.
"The major infra and supra structure projects that were offered in 2013 included the development of Sumail Industrial Estate, the first project to be developed in the Sultanate in a single stage. The PEIE also floated a tender for the development of the seventh stage of Sohar Industrial Estate with an area of about eight million square metres," he said.
He affirmed that the PEIE also completed the technical and consultancy studies for implementing packages of certain projects in the Al Rusaiyl Industrial Estate. These included re-development of the area and expanding it by 3.5 million square metres.
"The PEIE also started to prepare for the expansion of Nizwa Industrial Estate by adding more than 900,000 square metres. Almost 90 per cent of Raysut Industrial Estate expansion development has been completed," he said.
As for KOM, he pointed out that 95 per cent of the service building has been completed and it is expected to become operational in the first half of 2014.
By the end of 2013, the number of projects at the KOM stood at 133, an increase of 12 projects or 10 per cent growth, 121 projects at the end of 2012.
As much as 65 per cent of the Al Mazyounah Free Zone has been completed and the tender for the second package to develop the zone is ready to be floated by the Tender Board during the first quarter of this year.
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