Sohar Industrial Port Company, a joint venture between Oman and the Port of Rotterdam, has signed a land lease agreement with Brazil's mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale) for an iron ore plant in Oman.
The project is subject to Vale's board approval. The production of iron ore pellets in Sohar is planned to commence in the second half of 2010.
This will be the first wholly owned greenfield investment in the ferrous sector outside Brazil for Vale.
The agreement, which is expected to bring $1 billion worth of investments in a production facility and distribution centre in the Port of Sohar, was signed in Rotterdam by Maqbool Bin Ali Sultan, Oman's minister of commerce and industry and chairman of the SIPC, and Eduardo Bartolomeo, Vale's executive director of logistics.
Vale is planning to construct an iron ore pellet plant and iron ore distribution centre facility in Sohar.
There will also be joint investment in related marine infrastructure by the Oman government and the Port of Rotterdam.
Vale will use the distribution centre in Sohar to send goods across the Middle East.SIPC is planning to start construction of a deep water jetty this year to accommodate very large vessels with drafts of up to 23 metres bringing iron ore from Brazil.
The port also aims to establish a more extensive handling of bulk cargo facilities.
Source: Gulf News
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