Muscat – Sayyid Asaad bin Tarik al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs and Personal Representative of His Majesty the Sultan, presided over the launch of OQ’s RO2.7bn Liwa Plastic Industries Complex (LPIC) mega project located at Sohar Industrial Port on Monday.

The successful completion of the complex is part of the government’s plans to diversify sources of national income and promote downstream manufacturing investment opportunities in the petrochemicals sector aimed at maximising the value of Oman’s natural resources.

The official commissioning of LPIC – the flagship project of OQ, the global integrated energy group of Oman – was celebrated at a grand ceremony held under the auspices of Sayyid Asaad. The launch event, attended by dignitaries from the public and private sectors, was held against the backdrop of the celebrations marking the 51st National Day of the Renaissance.

Talal bin Hamed al Oufi, CEO of OQ Group, delivered a speech in which he welcomed Sayyid Asaad as the patron of the event. Noting that the inauguration of the Liwa Plastics project coincides with celebrations marking the 51st National Day of the Renaissance, Oufi congratulated His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and wished him continued good health and a long life.

“This project adds a new dimension to the nation’s current economic development as it is one of the most important and largest undertakings in the sultanate’s industrial sector with the potential to stimulate investments in downstream industries and SMEs in line with the OQ Group’s strategy to drive sustainable development.

“The opening of this project is an illustration of the OQ Group keenness to harness its industrial and investment capabilities in unlocking the full potential of the petrochemicals sector and optimising the utilisation of Oman’s oil and gas resources,” Oufi said.

He affirmed the group’s determination to move forward in enhancing local value addition and in-country value (ICV) development by supporting downstream manufacturing industries associated with the project, which incorporates modern technologies to manufacture high quality polymers.

“OQ has attached the utmost importance in building the capacity of the Omani youth, and enriching their skills in the unique technical disciplines that are introduced through this project for the first time in the sultanate,” he said, adding that around 337 qualified young Omanis have been trained and equipped to be part of this complex.

New industrial landmark

Sayyid Asaad said the Liwa Plastics project is of great importance to the national economy and embodies the economic diversification policies pursued by the government of His Majesty the Sultan. “Liwa Plastics enhances the efforts exerted in the industrial sector to upgrade it, and it has significant contributions to the local added value that has boosted investment in the local market.

“The project is in line with Oman Vision 2040 and it represents a qualitative leap in many development and economic fields. It is a tributary of manufacturing industries in the sultanate and enhances the efforts exerted in the industrial sector and advancements. We hope to see more such projects for the country of this size,” Sayyid Asaad added.

LPIC consists of four key components, of which the second, third and fourth components are currently in commercial operation, with the integrated commercial operation of the first’s completion on track to reach full production capacity by the first quarter of 2022 in line with the project delivery schedule.

The ICV generated by the project during its construction phase amounted to approximately RO578mn, which was spent on the procurement of local goods and services, as well as training and support for SMEs.

LPIC aims to strengthen the industrial sector by producing 880,000 tonnes of polyethylene annually and about 300,000 tonnes of polypropylene annually, which will increase Oman’s production of the two polymers to 1.4mn tonnes per year, Oufi said. He added that the output from the complex totalled 474,000 tonnes by the end of October 2021.