Madayn launches development opportunities for investment complexes in four industrial cities

During these 10 years, Madayn has achieved a growth rate of 309% in the number of projects, 208% in the volume of investments, and 274% in the number of workforce, informs Hilal bin Hamad Al Hasani, CEO of Madayn.

“During the period 2006-2019, Madayn has achieved an increase in the total income by 871% and the net profit doubled more than 10 times touching over 1055%. Moreover, during the period 2016-2020, Madayn has managed to elevate the percentage of capital expenditure financing to 68% by 2019, while the initial indicators of 2021 results show that Madayn is approaching 80% in this regard,” Al Hasani pointed out, stressing that Madayn is financing its operating expenses by 100% since 2006.

Al Hasani highlighted that the Sultanate’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019 amounted to RO 29,349,500,000 according to the monthly statistical bulletin released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). “The gross output of the companies investing in Madayn in 2019 amounted to RO 2,805,884,474.15, and the value added of the producing companies in Madayn stood at RO 1,075,382,932.55,” Al Hasani stated.

During the same period, the total value of exports in all the industrial cities reached RO 1,361,373,788.51; while the total value of imports touched RO 1,087,477,031.33. The latter constitutes RO 776,280,120.50 of the value of imported raw materials and RO 311,196,910.83 of the value of local raw materials).

Madayn Investment Complexes

Al Hasani announced the launch of ‘Madayn Investment Complexes’ project, which will present an ideal opportunity for local and foreign companies to invest in the industrial sector and associated complementary sectors. “These companies shall develop specialised investment complexes through real estate plans, and the designs shall get approved by Madayn. The developing companies will then promote the industrial and investment units with the facilities for the local and foreign companies to buy or rent these units for immediate operation, following the installation of production lines of the tenant or owner,” Al Hasani said.

Development opportunities will be announced for 10 investment complexes in Suhar, Al Buraimi, Samail, and Sur industrial cities in a variety of sectors. The activities of the investment complexes will represent a variety of sectors including multi industries, food, plastic, and logistics industries. “These investment complexes shall support the industrial integration between small and large factories, and contribute to encouraging local and foreign investments towards the complementary industries. This project shall also offer an opportunity for the SMEs to enter the industrial sector through these investment complexes. The SMEs will be able to buy or lease real estate units with small areas that are compatible with their operational and production capacity,” Al Hasani stated.

COVID-19 Impact

With the objective of attracting more investments to the industrial cities as well as mitigating the economic impact of COVID-19 and the global drop of oil prices, the CEO of Madayn emphasised that Madayn has ensured to translate its responsibility towards investors and industrialists by announcing a lineup of incentives to support the investment environment in the industrial cities. Incentives were announced for Al Buraimi, Ibri, Al Mudhaibi and Thumrait industrial cities, and any industrial city to be announced later, which include exemption from rental value for a period of two years for all new projects, followed by a reduction in the rental value for a period of three years by 50 per cent for contracts concluded during the period from 2021 to 2024, in addition to reducing all other fees listed in Annex no. (1) of the Investment Regulations by 50 per cent for all new projects during the period from 2021 to 2024. The incentives also include reducing fees for IT activity license by 50 per cent for a period of two years during the period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022 for the existing and new projects in the Knowledge Oasis Muscat; in addition to not imposing fines for the delay in payments for the years 2020 and 2021.

New Industrial Cities

Commenting on the executive position of the new industrial cities that were announced earlier by Madayn, Al Hasani elaborated that the project of establishing Thumrait Industrial City has entered the final stage of designing the infrastructure, identifying available investment opportunities for the private sector, and updating the economic analysis. An environmental study was also conducted by a specialised environmental consultant and the environmental approval has been obtained from the relevant body. 

Located about 9 km away from Thumrait Air Base towards Marmul, the 4-million sqm area of Thumrait Industrial City will focus on mining industries such as gypsum and limestone industries, in addition to light industries related to building materials like cement products. Thumrait Industrial City will also be home to several support services such as vehicle maintenance workshops, cold and dry storage facilities, a fuel station and truck weigh station. Space has also been allocated for commercial projects such as car showrooms, cafes, rest houses, and workforce accommodation, which will be developed through partnership with the private sector as investment opportunities.

Speaking about Ibri Industrial City, Al Hasani said that Madayn is currently working on the infrastructure works of phase 1 at a cost of approximately RO 9 million in order to develop an area of ​​about 3 million sqm of infrastructure. This includes asphalt roads with a length of more than 18 km, lighting, water and electricity networks, sewage networks, and communication network. The project is in the preparation stage, and a notice of commencement has been issued last October as the infrastructure project has to be delivered in its final form by mid-2023.

Madayn is also in the process of floating a tender for the one-stop shop in Ibri Industrial City, which will comprise a fuel station, hotel, public amenities, restaurants, and auto care services. The tender document is in the review stage and is expected to be floated before the end of this year. 

With regard to Mahas Industrial City, the CEO of Madayn commented that the industrial city has begun with its administrative work in the wilayat of Khasab in Musandam governorate in early October this year to offer services to the factories that are localised in the industrial city, investors and businessmen. “Located on an area of 1,548,821 sqm, Mahas Industrial City presents competitive incentives to support the economic and social development in the governorate, attract local and regional investments, create job opportunities, and enhance the in-country value of the governorate’s natural resources,” Al Hasani said. 

He added that work is currently in its final stages to award the tender for road and infrastructure construction of Mahas Industrial City on an area of one million sqm and at a cost of approximately RO 6 million. The tender is expected to be awarded by end of December this year and the project implementation to commence by the first quarter of 2022. This project comprises construction of internal road network, installation of lighting poles, construction of a bridge linking the industrial city to the main road, in addition to electricity, water and communication networks, water tank, sewage tank, construction of the administration building, fence, and rainwater drainage channels.

Madayn has also floated consultancy services tender for Al Mudhaibi Industrial City, which encompasses a detailed design for a total area touching 14 million sqm, and another detailed design for an area of 2 million sqm. It also includes planning of a number of warehouses and identifying 15 viable investment opportunities that depend on the governorate’s natural resources. The tender also consists of the allocation and identification of sectors, namely: logistics, industrial, commercial, food, tourism and construction sectors. In addition to these areas, the tender includes carrying out traffic, topographic, and environmental studies.

Projects in progress

Al Hasani explained that Madayn is currently implementing vital projects in its industrial cities with the aim of boosting the investment environment. In Sur Industrial City, work is underway in implementing infrastructure development project with a total value of more than RO12 million, which shall be completed by the beginning of the second half of 2022. This project aims at providing essential infrastructure to serve the current investors and attract new local and foreign investments. The project includes construction of 17 km length of water network, 14 km of sewage network, 10.6 km of road network, 6.8 km of water drainage channels, two wastewater storage tanks with total capacity of 1230 m3, and water tanks.

The CEO of Madayn explained that in line with the efforts made to localise major projects and establish a multi-purpose international port in Sur Industrial City and the recent expansions seen by the industrial city; there is a need to develop the master plan of this industrial city to keep pace with the changes, trends and developments. Hence, Madayn has floated a tender for pre-qualification of consulting companies, and offers have been received from 18 companies.

The analysis and evaluation process of these offers is underway and it is hoped that the project will be completed during the second half of 2022. The project aims at updating the masterplan of the industrial city including identifying suitable locations for heavy industries, service paths, and locations for infrastructure facilities, in addition to conducting hydrological study for wadi paths, identifying their size and drainage and protection schemes, and creating additional leasable areas. 

Al Hasani added that Madayn is currently working on the expansion project of Nizwa Industrial City (Phases 3 and 4) to enhance the quality of services provided to investors and boost an attractive investment environment. This project includes developing road network in phases 3 and 4 equipped with basic services required by the investing projects, developing security system in entrances and internal roads, developing the current main entrance and adding an additional one to facilitate traffic flow. The completion percentage of this project has touched 50% by end of the third quarter of 2021. The project is expected to be completed during the first half of 2022.

Work is also underway to complete coordination with the competent authorities to get new expansion for Nizwa Industrial City for an area estimated at 2 million sqm, which will contribute to generating more investment opportunities in Nizwa. Work is also in progress to prepare tender documents for the commercial and residential areas at Nizwa Industrial City, which aim at providing essential services and facilities to the companies and workers in the industrial city such as commercial stores, auto care services, health services, and suitable housing complexes.

Al Hasani informed that Samail Industrial City will be officially inaugurated with the beginning of 2022. “Madayn is currently executing the design and implementation of infrastructure complementary project in Samail Industrial City. The project features a dual-lane road spanning 1.4 km from the roundabout at the main entrance of Samail Industrial City to the roundabout near Al Sharqiyah expressway. The project also includes designing and executing sewage pipe linking phase 3 with phase 1 of Samail Industrial City. This project, which is valued at RO 2 million, aims at enhancing and developing the infrastructure of Samail Industrial City. The completion rate has reached 48% and the project is expected to be completed in April 2022.”

Madayn has commenced with completing the development project of Al Buraimi Industrial City, Al Hasani informed. This includes establishing sewage network and plant, rehabilitating roads and rain drainage channels, in addition to developing an area of 300,000 sqm allocated for SMEs. He said that this project aims at improving the services in the industrial city and developing new lands to serve investors and attract new projects. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. Moreover, Madayn is currently conducting a feasibility study for fruit and vegetable market to be established in the wilayat of Mahdah. The study will be completed by the end of the current year.

Madayn is also continuing its efforts to complete the development of phase 7 in Suhar Industrial City through developing and improving the infrastructure. “This project aims to provide basic services like roads and water lines to the investors, and provide an attractive investment environment. The completion rate of the project is 66% and the project is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2022,” he pointed out.

As for Al Mazunah Free Zone, Al Hasani commented that the facility building is currently being constructed on an area of 11,000 sqm with a total value of more than RO 3 million. “Expected to be completed by end of this year, the facility building will be home to a variety of projects and SMEs. Moreover, Madayn is towards completing the construction of the second package of phase 2 of the infrastructure project in Al Mazunah, which covers an area of 1,600,000 sqm at a total cost of RO 6 million. The completion rate of the latter project has touched more than 90%.”

Additionally, Madayn has commenced with the integrated security fence project in Al Mazunah Free Zone at a total cost of RO1,200,000 million. The completion rate of the security fence project has touched more than 40% and is expected to be completed within 4 months. Besides, the design of Al Mazunah’s phase 4 master plan has commenced for an area of 3 million sqm. The tender for the construction of this phase is expected to be floated soon.

Smart City

Madayn has started implementing the project of transforming Knowledge Oasis Muscat into a smart city by creating a strong and secure infrastructure, providing a fast and secure communication network, in addition to applying cutting-edge solutions related to smart city applications such as those related to environment, reducing consumption, management and control of buildings and facilities, and smart solutions for security, safety and environment.

With the objective of developing and expanding the infrastructure and enhancing investments in KOM, Madayn has commenced with the Ring Road project and its associated services, which include road works and lighting, rainwater drainage, sewage network, water network, firefighting system, electrical works, CCTV, and pedestrian and cycling paths. Madayn has also floated a tender for designing and constructing multi-level parking project in KOM, which will be adopting latest smart systems.

PPP

In 2019, Madayn commenced with the programme of strengthening public-private partnership as the management of Al Rusayl Industrial City – Oman’s first industrial city was transferred to Oman Investment and Development Holding Company (Mubadrah). The first two years witnessed positive financial and technical indicators, acceleration of development, improvement of infrastructure and superstructure, and completion of several projects in Al Rusayl Industrial City.

Mubadrah is currently implementing Phase (2A) in Al Rusayl Industrial City at a cost of more than RO 32 million. The completion rate of this project has touched 85%. We should note here that more than 90% of the total area of this project has already been leased. Moreover, the redevelopment and rehabilitation project of the entrances to Al Rusayl Industrial City and the introduction of new entrances has been completed to solve the difficulties faced by the investors and visitors during their entrance to and exit from Al Rusayl Industrial City. In addition, the development of logistics project has been completed in Al Rusayl Industrial City at a cost touching RO 1.5 million, where the area has been fully leased and investments are being pumped by the investors to develop the leased lands.

Digital Transformation

Al Hasani emphasised that digital transformation is a key factor in promoting and enabling efforts to achieve Madayn 2040 Vision, and enhancing and accelerating business efficiency. To fully focus on achieving these objectives, a team has been designed for Madayn’s digital transformation project. He informed that the digital transformation strategy for Madayn has been completed and approved recently. “As part of this project, Madayn is working on the administrative and financial system project (ERP) related to resource planning, which aims at adopting advanced technical standards and simplifying procedures and operations. The completion rate of the ERP project has reached 70%,” he added. 

Masar

New Masar Service Centres will be inaugurated in four industrial cities next January, Al Hasani informed. This comes after the success seen by Masar in Al Rusayl and Suhar Industrial Cities. Masar aims at presenting an integrated platform that meet the requirements of investors for their projects in terms of licenses and approvals under one roof and within a specific timeframe.

-Ends-

© Press Release 2021