Panel to study potential for pharma industries hub in Salalah FZ

The panel, representing officials from OPAZ, Ministry of Health, Oman Investment Authority (OIA) and Salalah Free Zone, has been tasked with evaluating the free zone’s appeal as an investment destination for the manufacturing of all kinds of pharmaceuticals, hospital consumables, and medical devices catering to the domestic, regional and global markets.

Reporting on the proposed study, Duqm Economist – the newsletter of OPAZ – stated in its latest edition that the initiative stems from the burgeoning global demand for pharmaceutical products fuelled by the disastrous coronavirus epidemic.

“It also reflects OPAZ’s plan to attract local and international corporates to invest in this sector (with a pledge to) expedite the associated procedures (to support such investments),” it noted.

According to OPAZ, a number of factors bode well for the growth of a major pharmaceutical industrial hub in the free zone adjoining the Port of Salalah, a major transshipment and logistics gateway overlooking the Indian Ocean. The port sits astride major international shipping routes that connect all of the key global markets to the Sultanate, says OPAZ.

Investors can also leverage existing and planned free trade agreements (FTAs) with major economies such as the United States, European Union and other countries and blocs of the world. Also auguring well for this initiative is the port’s excellent multimodal transport and supply chain infrastructure.

In addition to benefiting from shorter transit times to major global markets, investors looking at Salalah Free Zone can also take advantage of competitive access to raw materials produced by local petrochemical plants, and proximity to temperature-controlled warehouses as well.

Already, the free zone is home to an array of investments focused on pharmaceuticals, nutritional products and other healthcare related commodities. Philex Pharmaceutical Industries, the biggest of these ventures, has already brought into operation part of its estimated $300 million-worth integrated pharmaceutical complex.

While a secondary packaging unit was launched in May 2020, the centerpiece of the massive venture — a pharmaceutical plant set on 110,000 sq metres — is currently under construction and will commence the first phase of operations next year. In addition to medicines, the company’s product line-up will include hard tablets and capsules, and the country’s first injectable solutions.