Regional News

In Brief

Antimony smelter nearly ready

Construction of the Oman Antimony Roaster (OAR), a $100-million investment by Strategic & Precious Metals Processing (SPMP), is nearing completion at Sohar Freezone, said a report.

The sultanate’s first antimony smelter project is set for cold commissioning soon, paving the way for Oman’s elevation into a select group of global producers of a strategically important metal, reported the Oman Daily Observer. The metal is widely used in the industrial, electronics and plastics sectors.

When operational, the 20,000-tonnes-per-annum capacity project will account for a significant chunk of total global production of antimony products and position the sultanate as a world-scale producer, it said.

The company confirmed that the OAR project remains on budget and on schedule.

 

Bahrain school work under way

Work is progressing at a steady pace on a girl school coming up over a 50,000-sq-m area in Jaw, a village on the southeastern coast of Bahrain, with 64 per cent of the project already completed, said a report.

The Jaw Comprehensive School for Girls, a four-building complex with an area of 26,500 sq m, can accommodate 1,440 students in 48 classrooms, reported the Bahrain News Agency (BNA). It features hitech multifunctional sports hall, science, computer and home sciences labs, a library, cafeteria in addition to a guards room, offices for the teaching and administrative faculty and other service facilities.

 

Crowne Plaza opens at OCEC

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) have announced the opening of Crowne Plaza Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre in Muscat.

The newly opened hotel is the second Crowne Plaza in the capital and the fifth in Oman, demonstrating the increasing popularity of the brand in the sultanate. The 296-room hotel is conveniently located 10 minutes from the New Muscat International Airport and is a part of the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) project, situated in Phase One of Madinat Al Irfan, a world-class, urban mixed-use development by Omran designed to meet global standards.