Future Fund Oman (FFO), which is controlled by the sovereign wealth fund of Oman, has decided to invest OMR 60 million ($156 million) in the $1.35 billion polysilicon production facility that United Solar Polysilicon (FZC) SPC is currently building at the Sohar Port and Freezone, a deep-sea port midway between Dubai and Oman’s capital, Muscat.
“This new facility will enhance Oman's standing in the renewable energy market and serve as a catalyst for further foreign direct investment (FDI),” said Rashid Sultan Al Hashmi, Senior Manager of FFO. “This project is expected to attract further downstream investments in Oman's solar manufacturing value chain.”
Expected to be operational sometime next year, the plant will occupy an area of 160,000 square meters and produce 100,000 MT of high-quality metallurgical silicon annually.
The plant’s production process will involve pouring liquid metallic silicon from a furnace into molds, then cooling, casting, grinding and packing the ore for global export.
Oman’s Undersecretary for Commerce and Industry at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion, Saleh bin Said Masan, billed the project as the first of its kind in the Middle East and said the project holds the promise of a more sustainable future for the Sohar Port and Freezone by increasing handling capacity in the years to come.
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