The Board of Directors of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) held its first meeting for 2023 here today under the chairmanship of Dr. Ali Saud Al Sunaidi, Chairman of the board.
The Board of Directors of OPAZ approved the allocation of industrial lands in Duqm to be under the management of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates “Madayn” within the lands of the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD).
The board also reviewed the proposed amendments project of the bylaw of Urban Planning and Building Permits, to facilitate investments and ensure the consistency of the overall appearance of existing buildings. This bylaw will be developed to be applied in new economic zones, free zones and various industrial zones.
Further, the board discussed the controls, rules and registration of engineering consultancy offices and their classifications in SEZAD. This will be applied to the rest of the special economic zones, free zones and industrial zones in the future.
During the meeting, the board also approved a mechanism for signing usufruct agreements with government entities in SEZAD and unifying usufruct fees for commercial lands allocated for petrol station projects and their associating facilities, located in SEZAD, for a period of five years. All contracts are evaluated during this period.Moreover, OPAZ was established by Royal Decree No. (105/2020) on 18 August 2020 to supervise over SEZAD, free zones in Sohar, Salalah, Al Mazunah and any other special economic zone or free zone in the Sultanate of Oman. OPAZ also supervises over Madayn as promulgated by Royal Decree No. (53/2022).
Source: Oman News Agency