The Philex Pharmaceuticals manufacturing factory in the Salalah Free Zone was opened today, under the patronage of Dr. Hilal Ali Al Sabti, Minister of Health.
The manufacturer is an important contributor in securing the Omani markets with pharmaceutical needs. It also seeks to export locally manufactured products to the GCC and Arab countries, as well as the African market soon.
The manufacturer, built according to international standard specifications, currently has local and global opportunities and operational plans. The drug products are marketed in Oman and other countries.
The project included three stages of development; establishing an advanced pharmaceutical manufacturer and a development & research center. In the current stage, the manufacturer plans to produce more than 100 pharmaceuticals, including various types of medicines and vaccines in the next stages with a production capacity of one billion tablets and one billion capsules annually for the first stage.
The manufacturer is the most recent project in the pharmaceutical field in Oman, aiming to turn Salalah Free Zone into a regional center for pharmaceutical & biological industries with investments of about $150 million.
With the opening of the factory, the total existing investments in pharmaceutical and medical factories have reached nearly $200 million in Salalah Free Zone and Raysut Industrial Zone, with seven factories.
Dr. Ali Masoud Al Sunaidy, Chairman of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ), said, “Opening this factory marks an added value to the pharmaceutical and medical industries in general in the Oman, and particularly in the free and industrial zones in Dhofar Governorate, which stands as an attractive investment environment for such industries.”
He further added, “Today, we are observing the opening of the 23 million Omani Riyal valued first phase of the factory, an equivalent of $60 million. The project’s production capacity is approximately one billion drug pills and one billion drug capsules for 50 medicinal items in this phase. Besides, it is expected that the factory will soon complete the project’s second and third phases, bringing the investment value to Omani Riyal 58 million ($150 million)”.
On the other hand, Al Sunaidy, pointed out, “Salalah Free Zone is currently a home for 2 more projects, with a value of Omani Riyal 13.5 million ($35million) one for producing medical tools and another one under construction for producing medical supplies. In addition, there are four other factories in Raysut Industrial City producing injectable solutions, pharmaceuticals, medical gloves and masks, and other medical supplies, with investment value of Omani Riyal 40 million ($104 million).
Hence, the total investments in the pharmaceutical and medical industries in both zones exceed $200 million. This makes three factories for pharmaceuticals and four for medical supplies, one of which is on final stages. While the objective is to meet the local needs of medicine and medical supplies, a number of these factories will also export to foreign markets.
Moreover, lands have been allocated in Salalah Free Zone for the expansion of the factory and any pharmaceutical and medical factories that are expected to come in the future”.
&uuid=(email))