Oman Ministry invites business owners to invest in waste recycling activities

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) has invited business owners to invest in waste recycling activities to enhance the local added value in the Sultanate of Oman.

According to the statistics available at the MoCIIP the number of waste exports for the years 2020 and 2021 reached more than 230,000, where paper waste topped the highest percentage with 59, then came copper waste by 24 per cent, and iron waste reached nine per cent. As for the Sultanate’s imports of waste for the same period, more than 680,000 tonnes, non-iron waste came in first place by 57 per cent, then copper waste by 34 per cent, and in third place was plastic waste by six per cent.”

Engineer Sami bin Salem Al Sahib, Director General of Industry at the MoCIIP said: "Based on the available statistical data, the Sultanate is ready to attract many industries related to recycling."

The ministry organised at the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry a workshop on regulating the export of waste, to shed light on the challenges facing the industrial sector and the proposed initiatives to solve these challenges regarding the export and import of industrial waste and its recycling, under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Saleh Bin Saeed Al-Masn, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion for Commerce and Industry, in the presence of a number of concerned authorities and participation from Bee’ah Company, Environment Authority and the Royal Oman Police.

The workshop aimed to discuss how to localise industries based on waste recycling, and the decision of the Environment Authority regarding the presentation of fees for the export of waste. During the workshop, solutions to maximise the added value and ways to organise the export of waste to supplement the national economy and improve performance, efficiency and effectiveness levels.

Engineer Sami bin Salem Al Sahib, Director General of Industry at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, stressed that recycling industries are among the most important projects that should receive attention from investors, as with the increase in environmental awareness and the measures taken by countries around the world to protect the environment and the rising costs of raw materials.

Al Sahib also indicated: "Oman Vision 2040 aims at economic diversification, including enhancing the contribution of the industrial sector to the GDP through the sustainability and development of existing industries and the creation of new investment opportunities in the industrial sector. To implement this goal, the General Directorate of Industry prepared the Industrial Strategy 2040. Which focused on 30 priority industrial sectors, including the recycling industries."