Khazaen Economic City masterplan to be ready soon

The detailed masterplan of the new 52-million-sq-m integrated economic city in Barka, Oman, will be unveiled soon by Khazaen Economic City (KEC), the master developer.

Khalid bin Awadh Al Balushi, CEO of KEC, was quoted by Oman News Agency as saying that work on the detailed designs of the city has reached a very advanced stage. The first construction contracts will be awarded and construction works will commence in the second half of this year, he said.

The announcement comes few days after signing the first investment agreements with the international investor to set up two production plants in Khazaen.

One of the projects is by Hema Leading Line, which will make products based on blending petrochemical raw materials for road and building applications.

The second project, being set by Muscat Manufacturing and Industries, will manufacture water disinfecting system products including organic cleaner and antibacterial liquid.

Al Balushi said the Economic City is gearing up to sign a number of similar investment agreements in the coming weeks; a sign of the increasing interest from across Oman, the GCC and around the world in Khazaen’s strategic location between Sohar Port and Muscat International Airport.

“Over the last months, we have focused on building Khazaen’s unique selling proposition as the region’s leading new investment destination.  This public-private partnership, pioneered by Asyad, is already attracting foreign companies, which will create jobs, enable economic multipliers supporting logistics SMEs and encourage local raw material refining into value added products. We are reaping the fruits of our hard work,” Al Balushi added.

Khazaen is the largest public and private partnership (PPP) project in Oman. The first phase of the city will include the first dry port in Oman, a free zone, logistics and industrial complexes, social infrastructure and residential, commercial and entertainment components.