Suhar project to put Oman on global textile map

The first unit of a giant yarn manufacturing plant — billed as the initial building block of a future textile cluster with the potential to put Oman on the global textile map —was formally inaugurated at Freezone Sohar on Thursday.
His Highness Sayyid Taimur bin Asaad al Said led a host of dignitaries at the unveiling of the Cotton Yarn Production Unit 1 of SV Pittie Sohar Textiles — a $300 million investment spearheaded by Indian textile magnate Vinod Pittie, Chairman — ShriVallabh Pittie Group, in the Sultanate. The project is also the first textile related venture in the Middle East — an investment that bodes well for the growth of a full-fledged end-to-end cluster, with immense employment generating potential.
Underscoring the value proposition associated with this project and its implications for economic development in North Al Batinah Governorate, the inauguration ceremony was also attended by top government officials, notably Sultan al Habsi, Deputy Governor — Central Bank of Oman; Abdulsalam al Murshidi, Executive President — State General Reserve Fund (SGRF), Talal al Rahbi, Deputy Secretary-General — Supreme Council for Planning; Mahana al Lamki, Governor — North Al Batinah, and the walis of Suhar and Liwa.
SV Pittie Sohar Textiles’ project comprises a complex of four state-of-the-art yarn manufacturing units covering an area of over two million square feet. When fully completed by November 2019, they will house a total of 300,000 spindles and 7,000 rotors producing over 100,000 metric tonnes of compact cotton yarn per annum.
During his tour of the project site, HH Sayyid Taimur also laid the foundation stone of the Cotton Yarn Spinning Unit 3 — a 500,000 sq foot facility due to be fully operational by April 2019.
Speaking at the unveiling, Chirag Pittie, Managing Director — ShriVallabh Pittie Group, said the Freezone Sohar project will serve to showcase the group’s yarn manufacturing capabilities. “Our group is one of the largest yarn manufacturing conglomerates across the world. The units constructed here in Sohar are the most automated and advanced of their kind in the world today. The yarn produced here will also be of the highest quality in the world.”
Vinod Pittie, Chairman, thanked the Omani government for its “support and encouragement” that helped clinch the Group’s last-minute decision to opt for Freezone Sohar as the hub for its global operations instead of another location elsewhere in the Gulf region.
Recalling the visit of an Omani delegation led by Sultan al Habsi, who was then Chairman of Sohar Port and Freezone, to SV Pittie’s facilities in Rajasthan (India) late last year, he said: “They came to our plant and convinced us that Oman is the ideal destination for this project and, and by the grace of the Almighty, we decided to set up this project in Oman. On the night of September 22, 2017 in Jaipur (India), they convinced me to sign the agreement — which I did happily — and I’m really proud that we have established our presence here in Oman.”
The Suhar venture, said Pittie, effectively marks the Group’s international foray and a hub for its international exports. Around 70 per cent of the yarn produced by the Group’s 12 units distributed across India is currently exported to a number of countries in Asia, among other regions.
“As a strategy, we have decided that our Indian companies will cater to the domestic market, while our Oman production will support our exports. Accordingly, all the products made in Oman will be 100 per cent exported to countries like China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and potentially the United Arab Emirates in the future, thereby earning a good amount of foreign exchange for the Sultanate.”