Muscat – In line with Oman’s efforts to enhance the country’s food security, Omani Bioproducts Company is planning to establish a factory for the production of animal feed and aquatic organisms at the Khazaen Economic City.

The animal feed factory will be established in three phases with an estimated investment cost of RO37mn, according to an Oman News Agency report.

The tender for the construction of the factory was issued in June, and it is expected that the construction work for the project will be awarded before the end of 2023. Nine local companies are bidding for the construction tender.

The project aims to benefit from agricultural and biological by-products, transform them into specialised value-added products, and recycle date by-products, which include date kernels, pulp, and palm fronds.

The animal feed factory project at the Khazaen Economic City will produce about 100,000 tonnes annually of alternative grass feed made from agricultural residues enriched with dates, and about 300,000 tonnes annually of marine animal feed for shrimp and cage-cultured fish.

The project will use locally available raw materials to cover the needs of newly established food security projects in the field of red meat, dairy products, aquaculture, and marine agriculture, in addition to serving the export market.

Haitham al Saadi, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Omani Bioproducts Company, said that the project comes within the framework of the company’s endeavour to contribute to achieving the goals of the Oman Vision 2040 by employing the concepts of the circular and bio-economy and taking advantage of the raw materials available in the local environment and using them to produce a group of products such as animal feed, aquatic organisms, and their raw materials in an economical, sustainable, and environmentally friendly manner.

Omani Bioproducts Company was established in partnership between the Nakheel Oman Development Company and Omani Mills Group, which are affiliated with the Oman Food Investment Holding Company. It is a model of joint work between companies owned by the Oman Investment Authority.