Oman’s Salalah Free Zone (SFZ) and US-based Flex Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company, recently signed an agreement to set up an international complex for pharmaceutical industries at a cost of $365 million, said a report.

The plant will produce more than 100 compound drugs. The complex is a strategic partnership between Abela International and Arab Group for Investment in SFZ, reported Times of Oman.

The agreement was signed by Ali bin Mohammed Tabuk, deputy CEO for commercial affairs at Salalah Free Zone (SFZ) and Jassim Al Misnad, chairman of Flex Pharmaceuticals, at the Doha Sheraton Hotel in Qatar.

Al Misnad said that the idea of investment in the sultanate is in line with the good relations between Qatar and Oman and an attempt to benefit from the promising opportunities in the pharmaceutical industries in the world.

He also noted that the establishment of this international pharmaceutical complex comes in a bid to benefit from the sultanate’s strategic location as a gateway to the Gulf region, its proximity to North African merging markets and the forecast growth in demand for vaccines in the Gulf and East Africa region.

The pharmaceutical complex will be supported by a research system, advanced labs and training centres. The project will be set up in three phases starting 2018 and will be completed in 2021. It will cover more than 20 International markets, said the report.

The project, which will include a research and development centre and world-class labs, will generate 300 job opportunities for young Omani males and females.

Al Misnad added that the company is now in the project launch stage and the factory construction works will start in the coming months.