Two greenfield steel projects are due to come on stream at Sohar and Salalah in Oman over the next two years, giving a boost to the manufacturing and construction sectors of the economy, said a report.

Moon Iron and Steel Company (Misco) and Raysut Steel Industries are both making headway in the construction of modern steel mills in Sohar Industrial City and Raysut Industrial City respectively, added the Oman Daily Observer report.

The government’s Implementation Support & Follow-up Unit (ISFU) – part of the Diwan of Royal Court – has played a key role in smoothing the way in their expeditious completion.

Both ventures are among a large portfolio of manufacturing-related projects and initiatives identified by Tanfeedh (The National Programme for Enhancing Economic Diversification) as key to accelerating the growth of the non-oil sector, while supporting employment creation as well, it said.

Misco is a state-of-the-art steel billet and rebar manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of billets and a rolling capacity of 1.1 million tonnes. The facility, with its distinctive European steel processing technology, will rank among only a handful in the region with the technological wherewithal to manufacture a range of products targeted at markets in the Gulf and the African continent.

A number of institutional investors from Oman and the GCC are also backing the venture.

Construction work on the project began early last year following the achievement of financial closure. Major civil and structural work has been completed at site, with equipment beginning to arrive from different parts of the world, according to a project update published by ISFU.

Commercial production is envisioned in the fourth quarter of this year once an agreement is reached on the type of energy that will be used as the primary fuel source for the project, added the report.