Construction work on a major flour mill — the third facility of its kind in the Sultanate — is scheduled to commence next month at a waterfront location within SOHAR Port and Freezone. The project, envisioned as part of the Omani government’s national food security strategy, is being implemented by Sohar Flour Mills, a subsidiary of Oman Flour Mills (OFM), which is partly majority-owned by the government. The 500-tonne-per-day-capacity mill is being built adjacent to a silo-based grain storage complex planned by the Public Authority for Strategic Food Reserves (PASFR). Together with an Agro-Terminal being developed by the SOHAR Port and Freezone, as well as a world-scale sugar refinery promoted by an Omani firm, the new investments will anchor the growth of a major Food Logistics and Distribution Hub at Sohar. According to Ali Habaj, Chief Executive Officer of Oman Flour Mills Company SAOG, a contract for the supply of milling equipment for the new flour mill at Sohar has been finalised, with actual construction work expected to commence in September 2016. The project is slated for completion by end-2017. (Oman Observer)