Essa Al Ghurair Investment partners with Sohar

Devina Divecha, February 11th, 2015

Sohar Port and Freezone and Essa Al Ghurair Investment have entered into a new partnership to promote value chain, food processing, and logistics support.

Essa Al Ghurair Investment will lease a 93,000 square metre plot from Sohar Port and Freezone until July 2043. The creation of Sohar Food Cluster Company will allow Essa Al Ghurair Investments to focus on the development of value chains.

In addition to this agreement there will be a purchase of prevailing assets from Sohar Port and Freezone.

The contract was signed during Gulfood 2015 by H.E. Sultan Bin Salem Al Habsi, chairman of Sohar Port and Freezone, Andre Toet, Sohar CEO, and chairman of Essa Al Ghurair Investment Company, H.E. Essa Bin Abdullah Al Ghurair.

“We are delighted to welcome Essa Al Ghurair Investment and its Sohar Food Cluster Company to Sohar. As part of our agreement, Sohar Food Cluster Company will have the option to begin developing, either by themselves or through joint ventures with international companies, services and industries that are linked to production, initially at Sohar Flour Mill,” said Toet.

Sohar Food Cluster Company will be located adjacent to the flour mill and sugar refinery, and will be close to the grain storage facility that is being built as part of the food security strategy of the Sultanate of Oman.

“Developing agricultural production and local value added services carries with it the potential to assert greater control over food prices and food security, and create local job opportunities,” added Toet.

“We are thrilled at this partnership which highlights the growing food demand in a region with a heavy dependence on food imports. With accelerated population growth, this partnership will enhance direct access to Oman and other key export markets in the GCC, as well as Iran, Pakistan, and East Africa,” said H.E. Al Ghurair.

Essa Al Ghuriar Investment is the second company to sign a deal with Sohar in the last week, after Dubai’s Centre Point Logistics entered into a contract to lease a 50,000 square metre plot as a stepping stone to its planned expansion into KSA.