A company is being formed in Oman to establish and operate a plant to manufacture extensible Kraft paper, mainly for use in the cement industry, the Oman Daily Observer has reported.
The plant will be set up at Rusayl Industrial Estate and its entire annual output of 39,600 tonnes is proposed to be exported to markets in the Gulf and the surrounding region. The project, estimated to cost RO16.6 million ($43.6 million), will be the first of its kind in the Gulf.
The technology supplier is Clupak of Sweden and one of the main promoters is the Future Group of Companies. The production will be mainly targeted at the eight cement bag manufacturing plants in the Gulf that now import Kraft requirements from Canada and Finland.
Novel recycling plant
A factory set up in Al Qoz, Dubai, by Indian entrepreneur Rajan Ahluwalia to produce paper from recycled textile mill waste and discarded cloth has found clients including Dubai Municipality. The municipality has promised to meet all its paper needs with material from the factory, said Oasis Paper Industry, which is now recycling 1.5 tonnes of waste per day and hopes to increase it to 12 tonnes per day.
Plaster unit proposed
A Dh2.91 million ($786,000) plaster manufacturing plant is to be set up at the Mussafah industrial area in Abu Dhabi as a joint venture between General Industries Corporation (GIC) and Khalifa Al Humari, a UAE entrepreneur.
Each is to hold a 50 per cent share and five per cent of the cost will be made available by the Industrial Development Fund (IDF) while GIC will chip in another 40 per cent. IDF is a unit of GIC and is devoted to the support of industrial development projects.
The project will produce all types of plasters for medical and military applications besides production of lined zinc oxide for disinfection and bandages. The designed capacity is sufficient to meet the needs of the UAE market, leaving room for exports as well.
Tissue paper plant launched
The UAE's second tissue paper manufacturing operation, the first of its kind in Ajman, has started trial operations in the emirate's free zone. Crown Paper Mill will initially produce 35 tonnes per day (tpd), eventually raising to its rated capacity of 50 tpd.
Scott facial tissue introduced
Olayan Kimberly-Clark and Baqer Mohebi Establishment have announced they are introducing Scott facial tissues for the first time in the Gulf. The multi-purpose facial tissue will be supplied from the Bahrain establishment of Kimberly-Clark and will be initially available in the UAE market from September.
2B site for chemicals
A unique B2B web site for buyers and sellers of speciality chemicals, Chem-e-Trade, is to be launched soon. The site is designed to provide a complete e-commerce solution for the industry and is being unveiled in the Middle East by Informatic Systems Trading Company.
Iran to build steel plant in Kuwait
Iran will build a steel plant in Kuwait, marking the country's first industrial factory abroad.
Mines and Metals Minister Eshaq Jahangiri said the plant would be operational by March 2002 but gave no further details about the project. Iran has been expanding international co-operation in industrial and other sectors in a bid to revive the economy which has been saddled with unemployment and inflation.
Supra mulls joint venture
White goods maker Supra Industrial Company Limited (SICL) is in negotiations with manufacturers in the Far East and the US for possible joint ventures and technology know-how. Part of the Jumbo group, SICL commissioned the first phase of its Dh100 million ($27.7 million) project at Jebel Ali Industrial Area early July.
Panel to study fish culture
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has formed a special committee to study applications for setting up fish culture projects.
The committee, chaired by the director-general of fisheries, has members from the ministries of Regional Municipalities and Environment and Transport and Housing, in addition to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
The fish culture sector is expected to make a significant contribution to the gross domestic product in the Sixth Five Year Plan of Oman.
Renaissance plans Dubai office
Renaissance Worldwide, a US-based business and technology consulting firm, plans to open its Middle East office in Dubai before the end of this year. The company, which reported revenues of about $700 million last year, employs 6,000 professionals and operates from 110 offices globally.
The company has worked with a number of companies in the Gulf including Savola, Saudi Arabian Glass Company, Eppco, Adnoc Distribution, MMI and MashreqBank, said the company's Middle East and India operations managing director Sanjiv Anand.
Chambal plans Egypt plant
Chambal Fertiliser, an Indian company of the KK Birla Group, plans to set up a fertiliser project in Egypt at an estimated investment of $400 million. The project, whose location is yet to be finalised, will have a production capacity of 900,000 tonnes per year.
MDF unit for Sohar
A medium density fibreboard (MDF) venture is planned to be established in Sohar following trials which showed that MDF can be successfully made from dried date palm fronds.
The trials were conducted by a South Korean factory at the behest of the Omani government, said a report in Oman Daily Observer.
"We are going to seek a patent for MDF technology based on the use of dried date palm fronds," said Hari Kumar Sreedharan, general manager of Future Economic Management & Consultancy (FMEC), the company behind the venture.
New e-firm planned
A company will shortly be set up to oversee the launch and running of a dedicated UAE marketsite which will be an online exchange for the buying and selling of goods over the Internet. Commerce One ME (C1ME) will hold a stake in the new company which will have an investment of $12-$20 million.
Six licences issued
Six final licences representing a total investment of $27.2 million were issued to the garment industry in 1999 by Bahrain, according to Ministry of Oil and Industry statistics.
Among the latest entrants to the field are Ambattur Clothing International; MRS Fashions, a subsidiary of a Hong Kong company, and Kemia.
While the garment industry is managed mainly by Indian companies, the textile field (yarn spinning and weaving) is dominated by Pakistani companies which have invested nearly $100 million.
NIG in Saudi venture
Kuwait's National Industries Group (NIG) is forming, in partnership with regional and international firms, a company to produce polypropylene in Saudi Arabia. The new company will be known as the National Petrochemicals Industrialisation Company (NPIC). The company's SR500 million ($133 million) capital has been fully subscribed.
The polypropylene plant will have an annual production capacity of 450,000 tonnes. NPIC is setting up the plant in partnership with Targor, a subsidiary of Germany's BASF and Montel, which is owned by Royal Dutch Shell.
ABB Lummus and Samsung Engineering Company will build the plant in Jubail at an estimated cost of SR2 billion.
German firm forms subsidiary
Germany's R. Stahl, based near Stuttgart, has established a 100 per cent subsidiary - R. Stahl Middle East FZE - at the Jebel Ali Free Zone. R. Stahl, which is active in explosion protection and manufactures cranes and hoists, has been represented in the Gulf since the 1960s.
Thai distribution centre planned
The Thai government has approved the establishment of a Dubai-based distribution centre for agricultural products in a bid to push annual Thai agro exports to the UAE to $120 million over the next five years. The centre will be set up in Jebel Ali where the Thai-Middle East Distribution Centre is currently based.