Muscat:Sohar Port and Freezone recently entered into a land lease agreement with Shell Development Oman (SDO) to power the business by solar photovoltaic (PV) projects instead of gas.

On April 18, 2019, Laetitia van Asch, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Sultanate hosted a ceremony to officiate this collaboration at the Crowne Plaza OCEC in Muscat.

Mark Geilenkirchen, CEO of Sohar Port and Freezone said, Sustainability is one of our key values in driving development at Suhar and this partnership with Shell will create solar-powered solutions that are the first-of-its-kind in the country. This also marks an incredible milestone and the first step in our proactive long-term programme, that we have already begun implementing, to transform our 4,500-hectare development into a green Freezone. We hope that the changes we are implementing today will encourage current clients and future investors to adopt cleaner technologies and sustainable practices tomorrow.

In line with the partnership, SOHAR will allocate 600-hectares of land for solar plants under development, with capacities ranging from 10MW up to 40MV. The pioneering project of 25MW will be focused on providing dedicated supply to Al Tamman Indsil Ferrochrome, and the entire development will create long-lasting economic value for the nation and the companies within the Freezone.

These solar PV projects will free up natural gas resources for better economic use, support the green agenda of the Sohar Freezone, and enable further economic development in Sohar, by unlocking large scale solar opportunities.

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