Muscat: The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion on Thursday celebrated Oman Industry Day, the 9th of February, which focused, this year, on promoting local content, the initiatives of the converting Industries’ Laboratory and Industries of the Future.
The event saw the launch of the "Omani Product Logo” and "Oman Barcoding Centre”. Dr Saleh Said Massan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion for Commerce and Industry, said that the output of the converting industries sector grew by 65.6 per cent at the end of the third quarter in 2022.
This, he noted, constituted 11 per cent of the total gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices and posted a rate of 9.3 per cent of the total GDP in fixed prices. Massan said that the volume of locally produced commodity exports also increased: mineral products grew by 175 per cent, metals by 27 per cent, chemicals by 32 per cent and plastic commodities by 42 per cent.
He added that Oman was able to achieve growth in various indicators, notably in the number of projects located in its industrial cities, the volume of their investments and the number of employment opportunities. He pointed out that investments in industrial zones stood at RO 7.5 billion at a time 2,398 new projects were localized there during 2022.
He explained that, by launching the international numbering system (barcode) for Omani goods and products, the ministry seeks to raise the efficiency of the supply chain, facilitate the sale and marketing of Omani products, unify the marketing identity of national products and encouraging Omani industrial establishments to target new markets and raise local and foreign consumer awareness.
Oman Industry Day celebration included the announcement of the outcomes and initiatives of the Converting Industries and Future Industries Laboratory, which brought together 83 government and private sector establishments and 168 participants from other entities to discuss a number of outcomes.
The converting industries clinics came out with several initiatives, said Massan, adding that these include: Enhancing the competitiveness of the Omani product, launching Oman Barcoding Centre, issuing and reviewing legislations and laws and devising regulations for registering laboratories, commercial complexes and centres and cooperatives societies.
Three main ‘pillars’ formed the cornerstones of the Converting Industries Lab, said Massan, noting that the first, The Industrial Strategy’s Review pillar, is associated with 16 entities and 30 sub-sectors. It constituted a number of programmes, which include the "Programme for Establishing Industrial Complexes” for new and knowledge-based companies, the "Entrepreneurship and Industrial Innovation Programme”, the "Industrial Development and Modernization Programme”, the "Governance Programme” and the "Management of Industrial Development Programme”, Massan added.
The second, the "Investment Opportunities” pillar, covers 38 projects and investment opportunities on medical supplies, plastics, mining, metallic minerals, non-metallic minerals, petrochemicals, to name a few. Fourteen investment opportunities were generated in the sectors of health, services, waste management and minerals. Out of the 24 investment projects, 12 are ready and 12 are under development, he said. He pointed out that the "Future Industries” pillar (the third), deals with the development of green industrial cities and smart cities.
The initiative is aimed at establishing the concept of "circular economy” in industrial cities by designating an industrial city to become a model. Emphasis, he said, is also laid on raising energy efficiency in these cities, developing them by promoting smart applications and initiatives and addressing the challenges facing factories in industrial cities, notably by reducing their operational cost. Oman Industry Day celebration covered the signing of five agreements to boost the industrial sector within the context of the Converting Industries and Future Industries Lab.
First: An agreement was signed by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion and Al Baraka Petrochemical Salts company. It provides for the establishment of a project for the production of salt and related industries, namely extracting salt from the Al Lukbi region in Al Wusta Governorate, with a production rate of about 4 million tonnes.
The project, scheduled to occupy an area of 187.23 hectares, will augment total output to 7 million tonnes of salts per annum. Second: A memorandum of understanding was also signed by the OQ Group and the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates "Madayn". It provides for the development of an area for making semi-finished and fully manufactured, high-added value plastic products.
The unit will constitute part of the Plastics Complex. Third: The Authority Small and Medium Enterprises Development (ASMED) and Madayn signed a cooperation programme on the establishment of a project known as the "Prefabricated Factories Complex”. The programme, aimed at supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), provides a variety of incentives for them within the complex and designating suitable sites for SMEs in all industrial cities.
Fourth: The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion and the Industrial Innovation Academy signed an agreement on a programme to empower Omani factories with technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). It provides for analyzing the status of some factories, financing them by adding production units equipped with the latest advanced technologies related to the automation and building a house of expertise and an incubator for 4IR applications to establish real value models for factories in various industrial fields.
The Fifth: An agreement for the implementation of a "Green Smart Industrial Cities Initiative” was signed by Madayn and Oman Investment and Development Holding Company to establish efficient, balanced and flexible systems for protecting to protect the environment and sustain its natural resources.
The initiative provides support for the national economy by applying the concept of circular economy and building smart industrial cities using various types of renewable energy. The initiative will contribute to cost reduction in productive sectors.
During the ceremony, Oman Barcoding Centre was inaugurated. The centre boasts a variety of advantages, including its membership in the International Barcoding Organization. It assigns the coding No 607 for commodities and products. As part of the activities of Oman Industry Day, Qais Mohammed al Yousuf, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, held a meeting with a number of industrialists, project owners and investors.
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