SOHAR Freezone locks in $163m across six land-lease deals

SOHAR Freezone has signed six land-lease agreements worth more than USD 163 million in planned investment, covering over 440,000 square metres of new industrial and logistics capacity at the Omani gateway.

The deals were signed at an investment ceremony organised by the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ). They span automotive and advanced industries, transformer manufacturing, medical devices, textile reuse and specialised logistics — a spread designed to deepen SOHAR's value-added manufacturing base alongside its port-linked distribution offer.

The anchor tenant is the big one. Sohar Automotive & Advanced Industries Park SPC (FZC), established by EW Partners, will pour roughly US$ 100 million into real assets across some 317,000 square metres. Phase one alone delivers around 180,000 square metres of manufacturing plants, workshops and warehouses aimed at automotive manufacturers, suppliers and advanced-manufacturing businesses.

What lands where, and for how much?

The remaining five agreements break down as follows:

• Voltamp International — US$ 39 million for a 75,000 square metre facility producing power and distribution transformers, expanding Oman's electrical-equipment manufacturing and building specialised technical skills and local content.
• Lalan Middle East — about US$ 12 million to expand medical-device manufacturing and integrated services by 7,500 square metres, adding downstream manufacturing, laboratories and specialised warehousing for healthcare supply chains across Oman and the GCC.
• Five Star Group LLC — US$ 10 million for a 25,000 square metre used-clothing sorting facility serving African markets including Angola, Congo and Tanzania.
• Volt Power and Lighting LLC — US$ 2.08 million for an 8,406 square metre warehouse handling import, storage, trading and re-export of electrical and lighting products.
• Dynamic Logistics Services — US$ 390,000 for a 7,000 square metre storage and re-export facility, starting with tools and engineering equipment before moving into specialised warehousing.

Two of the six have clear trade-lane implications. Five Star's textile sorting operation feeds second-hand clothing volumes into East and West African markets and, per the freezone, will generate additional cargo through SOHAR Port. Volt Power and Lighting's warehouse links Asian suppliers with African buyers — a classic transhipment play that leans on SOHAR's position outside the Strait of Hormuz.

Why the signing matters for cargo flows

The signings reinforce OPAZ's role in attracting investment and its partnership with SOHAR Port and Freezone in building an environment where value-added manufacturing grows alongside integrated logistics and access to international markets.

Dr Raid Al Rubaiey, CEO of SOHAR Port and Freezone, said the agreements reflect growing investor confidence in SOHAR's integrated industrial and logistics ecosystem. They will, he said, diversify the industrial base, strengthen value chains and connect manufacturing with regional and global markets through SOHAR Port — reinforcing its position as a regional and international hub for industry, logistics and supply-chain connectivity.

For shippers and forwarders, the calculus is straightforward. A 317,000 square metre automotive park plus transformer and medical-device plants means new inbound flows of components and machinery, and new outbound finished-goods cargo, routed through a single Gulf port. The textile-to-Africa channel adds a further, lower-value but high-volume stream.

With more than USD 163 million committed and construction timelines now in motion, expect SOHAR's non-oil cargo mix to thicken as these facilities come online over the coming years.