PEIE Organises ‘Industry Talk’ Event

PEIE Organises ‘Industry Talk’ Event

The Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE), represented by its Communication and Investor Services Centre, organised recently ‘Industry Talk’ event at Crowne Plaza Muscat, which aimed at offering an interactive platform to strengthen relations with the investors in the industrial estates, highlighting latest developments witnessed by the estates, and underscoringthe challenges faced by the investors with the aspiration to have an apt environment for the industrial investment in Oman.

Speaking at the event, Eng. Mohsin Al Hinai, Director General of Rusayl Industrial Estate, briefed the audience about the first industrial estate established in Oman – Rusayl Industrial Estate, and tracked the development phases the estate went through since its establishment when it had only 12 factories. The industry wheel grew rapidly and furtherthanks to the efforts of those in charge of this sector. Al Hinai stressed that the estate kept pace with the development of the industrial sector and is undertaking constant efforts to serve the investors in terms of essential services as well as facilitate and simplify procedures to further advance the sector to better levelsand create an ideal environment for the industrial investors in the estate.

On his part, Eng. Ibrahim Al Haji, Director of Operations at Sumail Industrial Estate, noted that the total area of the Sumail Industrial Estate is estimated around 753 hectares – around 7.5 million square meters, which is divided into two phases. “The area of the first phase is estimated at 548 hectares – around 5.5 million square metres – dedicated to localisation of food industries; iron, aluminium and furniture industries; petrochemical industry; marble and stone industry; stores and warehouses; and support services. On the other hand, the area of the second phase is estimated at 205 hectares – around 2 million square meters – which is dedicated to building materials’ industry,” Al Haji said, adding: “There are ongoing concerted efforts in cooperation with the concerned authorities to allocate additional space for the estate estimated at 10 million square meters, noting that the occupancy rate in the estate has touched around 86 per cent.”

Delivering his remarks, Eng. Abdullah Al Mukhaini, Director General of Sur Industrial Estate, stated that the current total area of Sur Industrial Estate is around 36.1 million square meters and the occupancy rate of the estate has reached 31 per cent of the total leasable space. “The volume of investments in Sur Industrial Estate has touched around 1.5 billion Omani Rial. The number of employees in the estate has reached 1950 in various administrative and technical disciplines, and the Omanisation rate has touched around 60.3 per cent in the factories,” Al Mukhaini pointed out.

Eng. Hamad Al Qasabi, Director General of Nizwa Industrial Estate, emphasised that the strategic location of Nizwa Industrial Estate has made it a destination for a variety of industries and projects. “The total volume of the investment in the estate has reached more than 185 million Omani Rial, divided almost equally between domestic and foreign investments. Besides, Nizwa Industrial Estate is undertaking significant efforts to create an excellent environment for investment development through offering various services of significance for the investors. These services are being provided in cooperation with several institutions including Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, Public Authority for Electricity and Water, Mazoon Electricity Company, Royal Oman Police, and Public Authority for Civil Defense and Ambulance,” Al Qasabi noted.

Delivering her paper, Ibtisam Al Farooji, Director of PEIE’s Communication and Investors’ Services Centre, stated that the centre aspires at identifying the needs of potential and existing investors and providing services to meet these needs. The centre is equipped with cutting-edge tools, and the representatives of the centre have been fully trained to deliver effective services through responding to enquiries and complaints and providing required information from investors, companies pertaining to PEIE and those interested. “The centre aims at providing a supportive investment environment and attain highest level of client satisfaction through building a strong CRM system and address the obstacles the investors may face, which takes place in collaboration with other related government entities,” Al Faroojielaborated.

Isam Al Shaqsi, ITprogrammer, delivered a presentation showcasing the electronic investment system in PEIE. On her part, Dr.Lorna Cork, consultant at Industrial Innovation Centre (IIC), explained that IIC aims at assisting industrial progression through research and development, and building capacity by encouraging local academic institutions to engage in applied industrial R&D. IIC was established in Rusayl Industrial Estate in 2010 as a government organisation parented by The Research Council (TRC) and the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates.The centre endeavours to develop sustainable models for creating an innovative culture within the industrial sector of the country. It aims at building an enriched knowledge culture within the industrial sector in the Sultanate through emphasising on benefits of collaboration with the research community including universities, labs, institutes, and science centres. Activation of connection between industrial and academic communities plays a pivotal role in developing Oman’s industry through Research and Development (R&D).

Delivering her paper, Salwa Al Shukaili, Director of PEIE’s Human Resources Development Centre, stressed the importance of training programmes developing knowledge and capabilities of the human cadres in the various industrial estates, which eventually result in advancing an outstanding quality of performance. The Human Resources Development Centre organises a series of training programmes, workshops and events throughout the year for the staff of PEIE and the national cadres in the companies and factories based in the various industrial estates of PEIE. These programmes focus on a variety of topics comprising management, financial and technical aspects.

Dharmaraj King, Partner (Consultancy Division) at Advanced Business Consultants (ABC), underscored the available business opportunities for the SMEs in industrial estates. He stated that the company has organised field visits to each industrial estate to obtain a first-hand understanding of the services and facilities available in and around the estate to get acquainted with the strategic objectives and plans for the development of the estate. Interviews with the tenants within each estate were executed to understand the issues currently faced by them and the required support services and amenities, and pre-feasibility studies were conducted for the small business opportunities that were identified.

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