JV to support value addition from Million Date Palms Project

Nakheel Oman, a 50:50 joint venture between the Diwan of Royal Court and Oman National Investments Development Company SAOC (Tanmia), will invest in a range of activities designed to unlock the full commercial potential of the government’s landmark Million Date Palm Plantations Project.
The JV, set up with a total equity of RO 28.2 million, will be the main offtaker of the date fruit, as well as the palm waste harvested from the Million Date Palm Plantations Project. It will also set up an array of value-adding downstream industries linked to the output from the Plantations Project.
Nakheel Oman’s role as the investment arm of the Million Date Palm Plantations Project was outlined at a major agriculture, fisheries and food investment forum held in Muscat recently.
Implementation of the ambitious Plantations Project, initiated at the Royal Directives of His Majesty the Sultan, is being overseen by the Diwan of Royal Court. The estimated one million date palms are being planted in 11 large farms distributed across the Sultanate. Four types of commercially valuable dates — Fardh, Khalas, Bu Narinja and Mejdool — are being cultivated as part of this national initiative.
Significantly, the Plantations Project is expected to yield around 50,000 tonnes of date fruit per annum during the first phase of operations, rising to 85,000 tonnes by 2034. Nizwa is proposed to be the hub for downstream and value-adding activities linked to the output from the Plantations Project.
Tanmia, a closed joint stock company established by Royal Decree to manage investments in a number of economic sectors, also has a stake in two key food security projects.
The company has a 10 per cent stake in A’Namaa, the promoters of the nation’s largest poultry project currently being established at Ibri in Dhahirah Governorate. Total investment in the venture, which will produce 60,000 tonnes per annum of white meat, is estimated at RO 100 million. Tanmia also has a 20 per cent stake in Al Bashayer Meat, a green-field meat production venture presently under execution with an investment of RO 38 million. Under the business model adopted by the company, livestock will be imported, fattened and slaughtered, providing a source of branded, quality red meat to be offered to retail and institutional customers in Oman and in other potential export markets.