SOHAR Port and Freezone has deep-water berths that allow for raw materials such as iron ore to be easily received, ensuring smooth primary and secondary production processes.

Five new ferrochrome smelters are under construction in the Freezone and following a US$60 million deal, they will be accompanied by the biggest rare earth metals plant of its kind (antimony), second only to China. The antimony concentrate will be sourced from a variety of antimony mines across the globe.

The opportunity


The demand for steel will grow to as much as two billion tons by 2025. Since the turn of the decade, infrastructure and construction projects linked to urbanisation in India, the Middle East, China and other regions, has accounted for more than 35 per cent of global steel demand and for more than half its growth. Demand for other metals, such as aluminium and copper, is also growing steadily in these regions.