Oman National Investments Development Company (Tanmia) said its joint venture with Sanvira Industries Limited and United Business Trading, has broken ground on a petroleum coke calcining facility within the Suhar Free Zone in the sultanate.

Founded in 1998, Tanmia is an investment company owned by the State General Reserve Fund and the military and civil pension funds of Oman. Its mandate is to invest in projects that contribute to economic development of Oman, create job opportunities and develop skills of the local population.

Sanvira Industries Limited is one of India’s largest producers of calcined petroleum coke, while United Business Trading is a specialist in the production and marketing of a range of chemicals in Oman.

The Sanvira Carbon (SFZ) project will boast a production capacity of 500,000 tonnes of calcined petroleum coke per year in Phase One which will mainly cater to the aluminium industry, amongst others, in Oman and the region.

In addition, the plant also features a power plant which will have the ability to produce up to 24 MW of electricity through internally generated steam.

The foundation stone for Sanvira Carbon's (SFZ) petroleum coke calcining facility was laid in the presence of Oman's Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy and other senior officials of Tanmia, Sanvira Industries and United Business Trading.

The project, which is due for commissioning in June 2021, will generate more than 140 direct job opportunities, said senior officials.

In addition, the company will also train and qualify fresh graduates through a training programme at Sanvira Industries’s facility in India, they stated.

Furthermore, the company will generate significant indirect employment and will collaborate with small and medium enterprises for logistics and other support services, the officials added.

The project also falls in line with the government’s objectives to develop the manufacturing sector in Oman which is one of the key sectors targeted in the National Programme for Enhancing Economic
Diversification “Tanfeedh”.

Addressing the gathering, Tanmia CEO Shaikh Rashid bin Saif Al Saadi said the project contributes significantly to the value chain of Oman’s petrochemical and aluminum industries with the aim of transferring technology and generation of local employment.

Sanvira Industries CEO Rajiv Reddy said: "Oman’s strategic location and stability enables it to become an attractive investment hub for foreign investors."

United Business Trading managing director Said bin Salim Al Hajri said this project will bring significant value to Oman through the conversion of low-value green petroleum coke, that is produced from local and global oil refineries, into a higher value calcined petroleum coke.-TradeArabia News Service