Wuhan Xiaolong Automotive Technology Co, a Chinese specialist automaker, revealed it is making headway in the establishment of a plant to manufacture high-mobility SUVs for civilian and military use at Oman’s Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Duqm, said a report.

The estimated $84 million project is presently in the early phases of development at a site allocated with the China-Oman Industrial Park which was formally inaugurated at the SEZ in April this year, added the Oman Daily Observer report.

The company’s general manager, Ou Guosheng, said the project is currently in the design phase.

He told the Duqm Economist, the newsletter of the Duqm SEZ Authority (Sezad), that the promoters have already met two key milestones in the development of the project: firstly, the completion of the soil and geographical investigations covering the site, and secondly, the signing of the partnership agreement with Oman Wan Fang, the Chinese-led developer of the China-Oman Industrial Park.

Guosheng said that the plant is presently being designed to suit the project’s specifications.

The SUV manufacturing plant was among 10 projects that were unveiled on April 19, as part of an initial portfolio of Chinese industrial investments firmed up for implementation at the China-Oman Industrial Park in Duqm, added the report.