Future Fund Oman (FFO), which is controlled by the sovereign wealth fund of Oman has decided to invest OMR 60 million ($156 million) in the $1.35 billion polysilicon production facility that United Solar Polysilicon (FZC) SPC is currently building at the Sohar Port and Freezone, a deep-sea port halfway between Dubai and Oman’s capital, Muscat.
“This new facility will improve That of Oman position in the renewable energy market and serve as a catalyst for further foreign direct investment (FDI),” the minister said Rashid Sultan Al HashmiSenior Manager of FFO. “This project is expected to attract further downstream investment That of Oman value chain for solar energy production.”
The plant is expected to be operational sometime next year, covering an area of 160,000 square meters and producing 100,000 tons of high-quality metallurgical silicon annually.
The plant’s production process involves pouring liquid metallic silicon from a furnace into molds, after which the ore is cooled, cast, milled and packaged for worldwide export.
Oman’s Undersecretary for Trade and Industry at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment Promotion, Saleh bin Said Masan, labeled the project as the first of its kind in the Middle East and said the project holds the promise of a more sustainable future for the world. Sohar Port and Freezone by increasing processing capacity in the coming years.
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