1.   What are the benefits of the investment of Saudi Arabia’s Al Watania Al Khalijyah for Paper Products brings to the host economy? Explain. 

2.   To what extent can Porter’s Diamond help explain reliability of Khazaen as a place of investment for carton plates manufacturing unit? Discuss. 

Khazaen Attracts First GCC Investment

25/02/2020 Oman Observer

Successfully positioning itself as the preferred place of investment for regional and international companies, Khazaen Economic City (Khazaen) has signed its first GCC investment with Saudi Arabia’s Al Watania Al Khalijyah for Paper Products.

The project is considered as Oman’s first-of-its-kind carton plates manufacturing unit with an initial investment of RO2 million. The planned facility will occupy an area of 10,000m2 within the light and medium industrial zone in Khazaen with construction to be completed by end of this year.

Al Watania Al Khalijyah for Paper Products is an affiliate of Al Watania for Industries Company (Al Watania), which is ranked among the top 100 companies in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia. The agreement was signed in Muscat by Khalid Awadh al Balushi, CEO of Khazaen and Eng Ibrahim bin Ibrahim Behairi, CEO of Al Watania.

“Today we have achieved a significant milestone for Khazaen as we are delighted to sign with our first GCC investment with Al Watania for Industries to develop the first carton plate manufacturing unit in Oman.

This confirms the trust that Khazaen is gaining from local and international investors due to its attractive location, swift access to various logistics gateways across the country and Oman’s investor-friendly climate in general,” Khalid Awadh al Balushi, said.

He further asserted, “With the signing of the RO2 million project with Al Watania for Indu8stries, which is one of Saudi’s leading companies and ranked among top 100 industrial companies in KSA, we aspire to attract more inwards investments from GCC countries in general, and from Saudi Arabia in particular, as this will not only bring more industrial knowhow to the Sultanate, but also it will create promising job opportunities for the Omani youth.” Eng Ibrahim Behairi, CEO, Al Watania said: “The Sultanate of Oman is known to be an investment-friendly country. Thus, we are confident that our investment in establishing the first factory affiliated to Al Watania to produce carton plates in Khazaen will be a great added value for both parties. We plan to allocate 60 per cent of the factory’s production capacity to meet local demand, while exporting the rest to regional markets.”

Eng Behairi added, “The options and advantages offered by Khazaen along with its strategic location have been important factors for us to choose this promising economic city. We are certain that through this project, we together can contribute to the growth of inter-GCC investments.” Khazaen is Oman’s most recent integrated economic city being developed over a 51.6 million m2 land in Barka, South Batinah Governorate. The City is strategically located near the capital city of Muscat, is only 30 minutes from Muscat International Airport and around two hours from Sohar Port.

Khazaen will be linked through the proposed railway project in the future, making it an ideal location with multimodal transport options. Khazaen is the ideal logistics, warehousing, light industrial and commercial hub linking the main modes of transportation in and out of Oman.

The new integrated economic city will be the home of Oman’s first dry port, besides multi-mix residential units, entertainment facilities, retail outlets, international schools and modern healthcare centres which will offer all residents a community where they can efficiently conduct business, work, live and play. The project has embarked upon the implementation of the first phase of development to provide more than 3 million sqm of leasable land.