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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

New greenfield steel plants coming up in Suhar and Salalah

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CONRAD PRABHU  -


Muscat, MAY 7 -


Two greenfield steel projects are due to come on stream in Suhar and Salalah over the next two years, bolstering the production of commodities deemed indispensable to the growth of a strong economy.


Moon Iron and Steel Company (MISCO) and Raysut Steel Industries LLC are both making headway in the construction of modern steel mills in Suhar Industrial City and Raysut Industrial City respectively, with the government’s Implementation Support & Follow-up Unit (ISFU) – part of the Diwan of Royal Court – has playing a key role in smoothing the way in their expeditious completion.


Both ventures are among a large portfolio of manufacturing-related projects and initiatives identified by Tanfeedh (The National Programme for Enhancing Economic Diversification) as key to accelerating the growth of the non-oil sector, while supporting employment creation as well.


MISCO is investing in a state-of-the-art steel billet and rebar manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tons of billets and a rolling capacity of 1.1 million tons. The facility, with its distinctive European steel processing technology, will rank among only a handful in the region with the technological wherewithal to manufacture a range of products targeted at markets in the Gulf and the African continent. A number of institutional investors from Oman and the GCC are also backing the venture.


Construction work on the project began early last year following the achievement of financial closure. Major civil and structural work has been completed at site, with equipment beginning to arrive from different parts of the world, according to a project update published by ISFU.


Commercial production is envisioned in the fourth quarter of this year once agreement is reached on the type of energy that will be used as the primary fuel source for the project.


In Salalah, Raysut Steel Industries LLC has commenced work on a facility with an annual production capacity of 250,000 tons of high yield strength reinforced steel bars. The project will use steel billets as raw material to manufacture steel bars of 8 – 32mm destined for the thriving domestic construction and infrastructure sector.


ISFU, along with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is also working with the Gas Allocation Committee to secure the required quantities of natural gas as a fuel resource for the project. The plant is slated to come into production by 2020-end.


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