Oman-based Dhofar Steel has announced plans to establish a steel rolling mill in Sohar Industrial Estate with raw material sourced from Iran, said a report.

The multi-million rial investment will see an existing billet manufacturing plant at Sohar upgraded and expanded into a major rolling mill with its output of reinforced steel bars (rebars) targeted primarily at regional markets, Salim Al Mashekhi, group chairman, was quoted as saying in an Oman Daily Observer report.

Al Mashekhi said that the launch of a rolling mill will help position the growth of a strong and well-respected Omani brand in the domestic and regional markets.

He added that the Dhofar Steel was launched around two years previously with the acquisition of a small steel billet manufacturing plant in Sohar. During this period, the company has been testing the waters, and is now ready to upgrade into a modern rolling mill.

Al Mashekhi noted that the company is in discussion with its strategic partners in Iran for raw materials, and Turkey for equipment, to achieve its objectives.

He further added that the company envisages a rebar manufacturing capacity of 10,000-15,000 metric tonnes per month, slated for commissioning and launch within the next six to eight months.

The launch of a new rolling mill will also be seen to help strengthen domestic production capacity of a commodity that is billed as strategically vital to the nation’s ongoing modernisation and economic development, added the report.