Agreement signed for air quality monitoring stations in Sur

Sur Industrial City, affiliated with Madayn, organized a signing ceremony on Monday for handling contracts between large enterprises and SMEs, as well as a memorandum of cooperation to implement Air Quality Monitoring Station Network (AQMSN) in the wilayat of Sur. The event was held at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences in Sur under the auspices of His Excellency Dr. Abdullah bin Ali Al Amri, Chairman of the Environment Authority.

Eng. Abdulqadir bin Salim Al Balushi, Director General of Sur Industrial City, pointed out that a total of 13 handling contracts worth nearly RO 2 million got signed at the event between Oman India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO), Oman LNG, Phoenix Power Company, with a group of SMEs.

“The contracts involve various logistics and support services, and we hope to maximize these services in the coming years through continuous cooperation and support received from the major companies in Sur Industrial City,” Al Balushi said.

Al Balushi added that as a result of constant coordination between Madayn and the Environment Authority, Madayn has signed an MoU with Oman India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO), Oman LNG, and Phoenix Power Company to implement Air Quality Monitoring Stations in several locations in South al Sharqiyah governorate.

“Madayn pays significant attention to the environmental aspects being one of the national priorities of Oman Vision 2040,” Al Balushi said, adding: “In this regard, Sur Industrial City has recently completed the engineering designs to implement phase 1 of ‘green buffer zone’ on 100,000 sqm in Sur Industrial City with the support from OMIFCO. Work on this project will commence during Q4 of the current year and the implementation shall take 7 months. This project, which will include planting 1,000 trees, walkway, and seating areas, shall generate small investment opportunities for the entrepreneurs to provide support services and consequently ensure the sustainability of the project.”

Within its annual agenda, Sur Industrial City is undertaking efforts to plant 500 trees to increase the green area and contribute to the national initiative implemented by the Environment Authority to plant 10 million trees in the Sultanate.

Eng. Ahmed bin Khamis Al Kasbi, Director of Operations at Sur Industrial City, commented that the industrial city is strategically located on a total area of 34 million sqm and offers 23 million sqm of investable areas.

Sur Industrial City is home to 130 projects with a total investment value exceeding RO 2.3 billion. In addition to the presence of several major projects and SMEs representing various industries, Sur Industrial City also enjoys the presence of service projects such as Sur Gate, Hay al Sharooq Residential Complex, and Hay al Sharooq International School.

It should be noted that the national programme for monitoring the environment and the detection of surrounding air quality comes within the framework of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and supports the priorities in Oman Vision 2040.