(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Mowasalat (Karwa) laid the foundation stone for Karwa Motors project in Duqm Special Economic Zone Authority (SEZAD) yesterday in Oman.
Karwa Motors is a joint venture partnership between Mowasalat Qatar, the national transport company of Qatar with a 70 percent equity stake and Oman Investment Fund (OIF), a sovereign wealth fund of Oman with the remaining 30 percent stake.
Together, the partners will invest around $90m in the initial phase of the project, a venture with the potential to underpin the growth of a bus hub at Duqm over the long-term.
The stone-laying ceremony marks a key milestone in the development of a landmark initiative to build the nation's first-ever bus manufacturing and assembly plant based on a strategic investment by the governments of Oman and Qatar.
The plant is initially planned for a production capacity of 1,000 buses a year, which can be increase up to 3,000 buses per annum in a phased expansion based on market demand. The plant is designed to produce Coach buses, City buses and School buses tailored for the local and regional markets.
The project is expected to create around 200 jobs in phase 1, which may double after the expansion with the addition of roles in research and development, design, parts manufacturing and global marketing.
'Karwa Motors will leverage Oman's existing automotive supply chain network to gain a foothold in the Oman and Qatar markets, which is tipped to become the region's largest by 2022, Karwa Motors Chairman Khalid Al Hail said.
'This plant will enable Karwa Motors to sell buses in the largest market of the MENA region while providing greater flexibility for Oman and Qatar. Worldwide demand for buses is growing and this is the first step towards becoming a leading regional bus manufacturer, he added.
The first stage of the project will be on a 220,000 square meters site located not far from a world-scale multipurpose port currently being developed at Duqm, Al Hail explained. 'Proximity and ease of access to the Port of Duqm ensures reduced shipping times and less effort and time on road transportation for raw materials as well as quick dispatch of finished buses to customers. This also assists in speedy release of goods from the port, reducing storage time.
The state-of-the-art facility will be initially equipped for welding, painting and assembly of buses and coaches. But over time, the project is expected to pull in investments in auto parts, components, engineering services, electronics, workshops and so on, thereby creating an automotive-based manufacturing cluster in Duqm.
Significantly, the leading Chinese bus manufacturer, Higer Co Ltd, has been named the technology partner and CKD Kit Supplier for the project. Higer is one of the fastest growing bus brands internationally, underpinned by its reputation for innovation, safety and durability.
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