Oman has accepted the final business plan prepared by Hillwood and Salalah Port Services for the Salalah Free Zone, reported the Gulf News on Monday.
"With the acceptance of the business plan, and the two royal decrees that will soon be completed, we will have the foundation of the concession agreement for the project, which we will immediately begin to draft and circulate for review. The government is committed to seeing this project become a reality at the earliest possible [time]," said Maqbool Ali Sultan, minister of commerce and industry.
The document outlines a complete course of action and implementation plan for the 6,000 acre Salalah Free Zone project, including an analysis and benchmarking exercise comparing the zone to its competition, project description, staffing, marketing, leasing and financial projections.
As market demand increases, additional land could be made available for the project, said the paper.
The Hillwood/SPS team recommends the project be developed in several phases, beginning this year.
The plan also recommends a series of incentives for customers of the free zone such as a 30-year tax exemption on profits and dividends, and an exemption from all other taxes and customs duties, no minimum capital requirements, 100 per cent foreign ownership, no restrictions on availability of foreign currency and no restrictions on repatriation of capital, profits and investments. In addition, under the plan, free zone employees will not pay personal income tax – Albawaba.com
