Chinese investments in Duqm under detailed design
All 10
industrial and petrochemical projects earmarked for development at the
China-Oman Industrial Park in the Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZ) are
currently under detailed design, according to the head of the consortium
overseeing the implementation of the ambitious hub. Ali Shah (pictured), CEO of
Wanfang LLC, said the design of the projects — which include a mega methanol
and methanol-to-olefins (MTO) scheme, major power plant, world-scale solar
equipment manufacturing facility, oilfield goods and pipeline plants, and a
sprawling hospitality venture — will lead to sub-usufruct agreements being
inked with the individual investors.
Invited to comment on the status
of the massive undertaking, which will see up to $10.7 billion of investment
flowing into the hub, Ali Shah said Oman Wanfang, the main developer of the
1,172 hectare industrial park at the SEZ, was working closely with the SEZ
Authority at Duqm (SEZAD) to take the initiative through to fruition.
Speaking at the OER Business
Summit, organised by UMS Events, on Monday, he however noted that the lack of
commitment towards the allocation of gas for the 10 projects was still an
issue.
‘We would want gas for our heavy
industries, and although Khazzan gas has now come on stream, there is no
commitment yet for gas from the Omani side’, he said.
Later, speaking to the Observer,
Ali Shah noted that some of the large petrochemical plants planned at the
China-Oman Industrial Park would require gas as feedstock for their operations.
The investors in question, he explained, are not expecting natural gas for
“cheap”, but rather at a “competitive price”.
“We are talking about gas not as
a fuel resource but as feedstock for these industries. So if we do not have
competitively priced gas, we cannot go to the investors,” he said.
Ahead of the start of actual
construction work on the projects, Oman Wanfang is currently developing the
infrastructure and utilities across the sprawling park, said Ali Shah. “Right
now, we are doing the land levelling, roads, water and electricity utilities,
and corridors. We are working closely with SEZAD to achieve these goals.”
Lined up for initial development
in the heavy industrial zone, the Chairman said, is a mega methanol-to-olefin
(MTO) plant alongside a giant greenfield methanol scheme promoted by Chinese
petrochemicals corporation Mingyuan Holdings Group Co Ltd with an investment of
around $2.3 billion.
