MUSCAT: An exclusive Polymer Park being established by wholly Omani government-owned OQ Group in the vicinity of its mega billion-dollar Liwa Plastics Industries Complex (LPIC) in Suhar, seeks to jumpstart the growth of a downstream plastics industry utilizing locally produced polymer as feedstock.
Formally known as Ladayn Polymer Park, the new plastics-focused manufacturing hub is being showcased internationally at leading trade shows in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Promotional videos aired recently by OQ have also sought to highlight the competitive advantages offered by the park’s proximity to upstream raw materials, sustainable energy resources, and superior logistics,
According to a senior OQ executive, Ladayn Polymer Park’s ‘Plug-and-Play’ design will make it seamless and convenient for local and international investors to set up their plastics-based industries in the Sultanate of Oman.
“The concept behind the Polymer Park is to simplify all the elements so that investors can actually come and invest in that park on a plug-and-play basis,” said Hilal bin Ali al Kharusi, CEO – Commercial & Downstream, OQ.
“Basically, the land, the utilities, the surface and admin will be provided in that park. So investors can come in to add value with their products to Oman market, or come up with further specialties to cater to their clients globally,” he stated.
Last May, the partnership of OQ and the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to set up a plastics park in Suhar Industrial City with support from Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-Up Unit.
As part of the MoU, Madayn earmarked a 1 million sq metre site in Suhar Industrial City for projects dedicated to the manufacture of semi-finished and finished high value-added plastic products targeted at the healthcare, food packaging, construction and agriculture sectors.
OQ officials noted at the time that the initiative would fuel the growth of a new polymer-based downstream industry that capitalises on its proximity to Liwa Plastics and its prodigious polymer output.
At full capacity, the petrochemicals plant can produce 1.4 million tonnes of polymers comprising polyethylene – a raw material used in nearly 40 per cent of plastics-based products and commodities produced globally, as well as polypropylene.
Significantly, the Polymer Park is also being designed keeping in mind sustainability goals, said Al Kharusi. “We are aiming to ensure that 30 per cent of the park’s power requirements will come from green energy, mainly solar. We also aim to ensure that all the materials will be recycled, so hopefully there will be no waste coming out of the park. Moreover, the plug-and-play is meant to attract foreign direct investment into the country.”
According to Talal al Awfi, Group CEO – OQ, the Polymer Park will also seek to attract entrepreneurs to look at small-scale and innovative product opportunities. “We are looking at potentially encouraging SMEs to get into the game. This Polymer Park will serve as a beautiful platform for investors to manufacture downstream products made up of polymers as feedstock,” he added.
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