Oman’s chemicals and plastics capacity will increase by 60 per cent to reach 8.5 million tons in 2012 according to the organisers of ArabPlast 2011, a leading trade show.

The event, which is the Middle East's premier trade show for rubber, plastics and petrochemicals, will be held from January 8 to 11, at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre.

The sultanate is one of the biggest players in the petrochemical industry in the region, with a global reach spanning 150 countries, according to Satish Khanna, general manager of Al Fajer Information & Services, Dubai, co-organiser of ArabPlast 2010.

The sultanate of Oman seeks to move away from dependence on the oil and gas sector to manufacturing and knowledge-based industries. In this context it has created the Sohar industrial Area for a multitude of oil and gas based projects.

“For the last five years, the Arabian Gulf region has been the petrochemical hub of the world and it will become the world’s largest producer and exporter of petrochemicals and plastics over the next few years. About 30-40 per cent of the world’s petrochemical requirements have been supplied and met by the GCC countries,” added Khanna.

A record number of companies are participating in ArabPlast 2011, he said.

Companies from atleast 32 countries are participating in the show.

On display at ArabPlast 2011 will be new products and technologies in injection moulding, blow moulding, wrapping and packaging, pre and post plastic processing techniques as well as raw materials, such as masterbatches, additives and polymers.

The show covers a wide spectrum of plastic machinery, plastic/rubber processing technology, pre and post-processing systems, plastic packaging technology, injection moulding, blow moulding, wrapping technology, extrusions, chemicals and additives, semi finished goods, engineering plastics and plastic products. -TradeArabia News Service