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Oman signs aluminium deal with Indian firm

A joint venture agreement involving a government-owned investment vehicle and a major Indian metals producer promises to boost the growth of Oman's nascent aluminium downstream processing industry.

  • Staff Report
  • Published: 23:54 June 22, 2008
  • Gulf News

Muscat: A joint venture agreement involving a government-owned investment vehicle and a major Indian metals producer promises to boost the growth of Oman's nascent aluminium downstream processing industry.

Bangalore-based Future Metals Private Ltd will have a 70 per cent stake in the new joint venture, while the rest will be owned by Takamul Investment, a venture capital fund set up by Oman Oil Company (OOC), a state-owned energy investment company.

The agreement covers the establishment of an aluminium rod extrusion plant at the Sohar Industrial Estate using hot metal from Sohar Aluminium's newly operational $2.4 billion smelter.

Oman's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Maqbool Bin Ali Sultan, who is also chairman of OOC, attended the signing ceremony. Also present was Tony Kinsman, CEO of Sohar Aluminium, which has committed 30,000 tonnes of liquid aluminium metal per annum for the project.

Industrial park

Oman is developing a downstream aluminium park within Sohar, which is earmarked exclusively for projects that will utilise hot metal from the giant smelter.

Sohar Aluminium has pledged up to 60 per cent of its total liquid metal output of its 350,000 tonnes a year for downstream industries.

Aluminium-based downstream projects in Sohar are expected to generate around 1,000 direct jobs, as well as create business opportunities for local entrepreneurs, according to Takamul Investment, which partners a majority of the downstream ventures.

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