Oman’s OFP has signed an agreement with Sharakah, an investor that supports the development of entrepreneurs and SMEs in the sultanate, to receive financial support to set up a manufacturing unit, a report said.

Sharakah and OFP will jointly invest in the factory in Nizwa Industrial Estate, said the Times of Oman report.

The manufacturing unit will cater to the huge demand from petrochemical, fertiliser, power, desalination, waste water and other industries.

“The market shows great potential for our product given the demand from large projects in various sectors. We have teamed up with experts to produce quality products,” Loay Al Haj, board member of OFP, was quoted as saying in the report.

"OFP is a project that deserves recognition for it is the first project to avail the Sharia-compliant equity scheme, it is identified in the list of In-Country-Value (ICV) by the Omani Oil and Gas companies, it covers a need in the local and regional market, it would provide more than 60 employment opportunities at least 30 per cent of them will be for Omanis, and it helps transfer knowledge and expertise in the local market,” said Zuwaina Al Badai, investment manager at Sharakah.

The unit will start setting up during the second quarter of this year and is expected to start production towards the end of the year.