The Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE) in cooperation with Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Al Buraimi recently organised an open meeting between Hilal bin Hamad Al Hasani, chief executive officer of PEIE and the investors and industrialists in Al Buraimi governorate.

Speaking at the event, Zahir bin Mohamed Al Kaabi, head of OCCI’s branch in Al Buraimi, emphasised that the industrial sector represents a main pillar of the economy and is at the forefront of economic activities that have high productivity returns.

Al Kaabi said: “We focus on our constant meetings with government officials to look into solutions that meet the challenges facing the private sector.”

“We aim at contributing to the development of the economic sector, and we hope that this meeting will present the opportunity to address many of the challenges facing the industrialists,” he added.

On his part, Hilal bin Hamad Al Hasani, CEO of PEIE, said that the industrial march in the sultanate began with the establishment of Rusayl Industrial Estate in 1983.

PEIE was established in 1993 to ensure continued development of the industrial sector throughout the sultanate’s governorates. Today, the organisation is responsible for developing and managing seven prime industrial estates namely Sur, Sohar, Raysut, Nizwa, Al Buraimi, Al Rusayl, Sumail, in addition to the Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) and Al Mazunah Free Zone.

Al Hasani added that PEIE gives a great importance to boost partnership with the private sector in Oman. He commented that through its medium and long term plans, PEIE has concentrated in cooperating and partnering effectively with the private sector in such a way to enhance its role and contribute to a comprehensive and sustainable economic and social development of the country.

Based on this approach, PEIE has adopted a programme to strengthen partnership with the private sector in the area of constructing, managing and operating the industrial estates and the economic areas pertaining to PEIE.

This programme consists of three main pillars. The first pillar is related to attraction of major developers to all the new industrial estates and PEIE would not invest directly in the development operations. The second pillar is related to opening the way for the private sector to work under the umbrella of PEIE as owners and developers of the economic areas through a variety of investment activities. Finally, the third pillar of the programme is related to the establishment of a holding company owned by PEIE to develop and manage the existing industrial estates.

Al Hasani stated: “Al Buraimi Industrial Estate like the other estates that fall under the umbrella of PEIE is receiving a great attention from the sultanate’s government. There is a continuous work to develop and increase the efficiency of Al Buraimi Industrial Estate. Around RO5 million ($12.98 million) has been allocated in 2018 to develop the current area in the estate.”

Delivering a presentation on the estate, Eng Abdullah Al Mayasi, director general of Al Buraimi Industrial Estate, said that Al Buraimi Industrial Estate has undertaken efforts to facilitate the flexibility of dealing with investors in 2017.

He added that the estate has achieved its goal in signing 45 contracts in 2017, as 10 contracts were signed during the first half of 2017, and 35 contracts were signed during the second half. The total area of investment in the estate has touched 2,007,111 sq m, while the total investment volume has exceeded RO218 million ($566.07 million). The total number of workforce at Al Buraimi Industrial Estate has touched 1860. During the coming period, the estate will allocate an area of 75,000 sq m for the construction of an integrated residential area for the estate’s workforce, and an area of 300,000 sq m will be allocated for the industrial workshops and stores.

More projects include the improvements of rainwater drainage system, electronic monitoring system with surveillance cameras, in addition to the establishment of a sewage network and sewage treatment plant.

Al Mayasi concluded that PEIE offers a lineup of value adding initiatives for business owners and investors in the industrial estates. These initiatives comprise the National Business Centre, the national campaign of promoting Omani products – Origin Oman, Communication and Investor Service Centre, and Industrial Innovation Centre, which has recently been transformed into a company.

He added that PEIE also pays an attention on human resources development and has been organising a series of courses, programmes, seminars and workshops for the national cadres in the industrial estates since 2011.

Subsequently, an open discussion session was held between the CEO of PEIE and the investors and industrialists in Al Buraimi governorate to identify the challenges facing the business environment in Al Buraimi.

The session discussed the mechanisms and solutions that contribute to a continued growth of the industrial sector in the sultanate in general and Al Buraimi in particular. The meeting came out with a number of recommendations and ideas that will be developed into an integrated vision to be studied for application possibility in the coming period, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service