MUSCAT, NOV 2 - Oman’s first cotton yarn manufacturing plant, currently in operation at Sohar Freezone, plans to shortly invite small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to capitalise on investment opportunities that add value to its yarn output.
SV Pittie Sohar Textiles, promoted by Indian yarn manufacturing conglomerate SV Pittie Group, is investing initially around $300 million on an integrated textiles cluster that will position the Sultanate as a major producer and exporter of yarn and textiles.
Having brought its first unit into operation last December, the company is now preparing to attract Omani entrepreneurs and small enterprises to explore value-add opportunities utilizing the prodigious quantities of yarn being churned out by the plant.
“There are a lot of downstream opportunities from yarn to fabric to clothing,” said Krishna Rao, Director — SV Pittie Sohar Textiles. “Right now we are 100 per cent export-oriented, but very soon, we will be announcing SME opportunities for downstream projects.”
Speaking at a forum on manufacturing, organised by Ithraa last week, the executive said the company is inviting SMEs to look at ‘two-for-one’ (TFO) yarn twisting, which adds value to the plant’s yarn output.
“We could do this yarn twisting ourselves, but we felt: why not bring in some SMEs into manufacturing? We have mitigated a lot of the risk by controlling all the yarn, and we can also train (the SMEs) to convert yarn into TFO, and we have also identified customers for them.”
SMEs can also go further downstream into knitting, weaving, garmenting, and so on. Additionally, there are opportunities to bring in tailors and create a brand around their merchandise, the official noted.
SV Pittie Sohar Textiles is envisioned to evolve into a world-scale integrated textile cluster anchored by a yarn manufacturing plant operating 300,000 spindles and 7,000 rotors at full capacity. Total investments in the cluster are estimated at $1.2 billion, while employment opportunities are projected at 20,000 jobs.
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