By establishing the industrial estates, the government has sought to diversify the source of income and promote business environment in the sultanate, avail employment opportunities for Omanis, in addition to attracting local and foreign investment. The first industrial estate was established in 1983 at Rusayl Industrial Estate in Muscat governorate, which was inaugurated officially in 1985.
Many industrial estates were established in a number of governorates and regions.
PEIE was established following Royal Decree No 4/93 with the aim of managing, operating and developing the industrial estates in the sultanate, including Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) and Al Mazunah Free Zone.
PEIE seeks to achieve a number of strategic goals and developmental infrastructure for attracting foreign investments to the sultanate, nationalising national capital, enhancing the private sector to contribute towards achieving the sustainable and overall socio-economic development, introducing new technology and availing manpower with technical skills.
It also seeks to create new employment opportunities, encourage exports and develop international trade, establish export-based industries and activate the economic sectors in the sultanate, such as transport, banking and tourism.
PEIE is looking after the interests of industrial investors by establishing the Industrial Innovation Centre at Rusayl Industrial Estate, thanks to the cooperation between PEIE and The Research Council (TRC).
The centre also seeks to disseminate the culture of innovation in the industrial sector for access to local and global markets alike, specify the industrial areas that need research and innovation, make available all data, studies, researches and scientific and practical consultations to industrialists, look after industrial innovation and creativity in the sultanate, study and analyse challenges facing industries that could slow down development in the sultanate.
PEIE seeks to promote national products among local consumers. To this end, it annually holds the Omani Product campaign in a bid to convince local consumers of national products and encourage them to buy them. This campaign is organised in collaboration with a number of public and private establishments.
Realising the importance of free zones in creating new markets for local products, the sultanate established two free zones, namely Salalah Free Zone and the Al Mazunah Free Zone, which are managed by PEIE. The Al Mazunah Free Zone is bordering one of the major consumer markets in the region – Yemen.
PEIE is developing the Al Mazunah Free Zone to serve the national economy in general and the industrial sector in particular and to be a window for Omani products for markets in Yemen and Horn of Africa. .
PEIE currently implements a number of major projects through private sector partnership.
It prepares plans for a number of projects that will be promoted locally and internationally.
Al Mazunah is located in the southwest of the sultanate, 4km away from the Yemeni border - 14km from the city of Shahn in Yemen. This location gives it a distinguished commercial and investment dimension, where it can be deemed an investment gate for Yemen and Oman, especially with the investment facilities offered to non-Omani investors.
The free zone project spreads over a huge area, reaching about 3mn sqm. The project contains the necessary facilities that constitute the a zone, including a commercial mall, hotels, car dealers, warehouses, administrative centre, showrooms, external clinics, secondary service centre, mosque, commercial stores, animal wealth, multi-purpose areas, green zones parking and others.
This project is supported by massive and modern infrastructure, including road networks, bridges, drainages, Internet, phone lines and mobiles networks, in addition to other facilities and services. There are a lot of special characteristics that attract investors to invest in Al Mazunah Project, namely its proximity to the Yemeni border. It offers easy use of Yemeni manpower without the need to obtain visas or to carry out the complex routine matters. It offers more freedom when it comes to hiring Omani manpower, (only ten per cent instead of 30 per cent).
Also, the unique and outstanding exemption packages include tax exemption for 30 years.
