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Food cluster ... boost for agro zone at Sohar Port.

Oman plans major food cluster at Sohar Port

MUSCAT, February 8, 2015

Oman’s Sohar Port and Freezone and UAE-based Al Ghurair Investments (AGI) have signed a new agreement to build the sultanate’s first dedicated food processing cluster, a report said.

The Sohar Food Cluster Company (SFCC) will feature a major flour mill, sugar refinery, grain silo complex and agro bulk handling terminal, Edwin Lammers, executive commercial manager at Sohar Port and Freezone was quoted as saying in the Oman Daily Observer report.

The new entity will be part of a growing agro cluster that is rapidly taking shape at Sohar Port and Freezone, he added.

“The agreement covers the lease of a 10-hectare plot located in between a 500 tonnes per day (tpd) capacity flour mill planned by Sohar Flour Mills and a one-million tonnes per year (tpy) capacity sugar refinery to be constructed by Oman Sugar Refinery Company (OSRC) within the industrial port,” Lammers told the Observer.

“The Sohar Food Cluster Company will seek to leverage its geographic proximity to these feed sources, as well as advantageous location within the port, to set up food processing and added-value industries.

“Through Sohar Food Cluster Company, Al Ghurair Investment will be creating the basic infrastructure to attract international investors as partners in joint ventures that will start up these various food-related industries.  The availability of flour, sugar, molasses, and a host of other products and by-products that will come out of the flour mill and sugar refinery is the underlying value proposition for investments in this cluster,” Lammers was quoted as saying.

He highlighted a number of investment opportunities in areas such as cold storage, warehousing and other investments along the supply chain.

The signing of the agreement took place against the backdrop of Gulfood 2015, the world’s premier food and hospitality show which opens today (February 8) at Dubai World Trade Centre, said the Oman Daily Observer.

Sohar Port and Freezone has a presence at the four-day-long fair with a view to promoting the industrial port as a hub for food distribution across the region, Lammers was quoted in the report.




Tags: Muscat | Sohar port | Al Ghurair |

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