Suhail Bahwan Takes the Floor in SOHAR Freezone

SOHAR Freezone now home to fast growing Middle East automotive hub

The construction of a jointless, steel-fiber reinforced concrete, industrial floor, the biggest ever laid in the Sultanate, marked the successful delivery of a new automotive finishing facility in SOHAR Freezone this week. Representatives from Nissan Motor Company, the world’s sixth largest automobile manufacturer, represented in the Sultanate by Suhail Bahwan Automotive, were on hand to see the final touches being put to a high-tech concrete slab, that forms the base of their 150,000 square metre plant in the Freezone. The management and technical teams from SOHAR Port and Freezone also attended the on-site ‘deminar’ yesterday evening, led by industrial flooring specialists Twintec.

A spokesperson for Suhail Bahwan explained that the large panel, jointless floor slab offers Nissan significant benefits compared to traditionally reinforced saw-cut concrete floors. Not only is construction time significantly shorter, maintenance costs will also be reduced and business efficiencies increased. He explained that the Nissan project is the first in the Sultanate to introduce the innovative Co-Sinus construction joint that provides a smooth ride for material handling equipment moving across the floor.

Speaking about the new floor’s environmental credentials, an important aspect of the assessment of every new project in SOHAR Freezone, Technical and Commercial Director of Twintec, Tom Menary, says: “We always seek to minimise the environmental impact of our operations, which is why our slab designs champion the use of cement replacement and minimise the use of heavy steel bar reinforcement; this improves the whole-life environmental performance of our projects.”

Based near Rugby in the UK, Twintec is no newcomer to the global automotive industry, with flagship construction projects that include flooring slabs for the new Renault assembly unit in Tangiers, Morocco; the Volkswagen plant in Sydney, Australia; and the BMW factory in Rosslyn, South Africa.

About SOHAR Port and Freezone

SOHAR Port and Freezone is a deep sea port and free zone in the Middle East, situated in the Sultanate of Oman around 200 kilometres northwest of its capital Muscat. With current investments exceeding US$21 billion, it is one of the world’s largest port and free zone developments and lies at the centre of global trade routes between Europe and Asia. SOHAR provides unequalled access to booming Gulf economies while avoiding the additional costs of passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The existing road network and airport and the future rail system provide direct connectivity to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as well as to the rest of the world. Equipped with deep-water jetties capable of handling the world’s largest ships, SOHAR has leading global partners that operate its container, dry bulk, liquid and gas terminals including Hutchison Whampoa, C. Steinweg Oman, Oiltanking Odfjell and Svitzer. SOHAR Port and Freezone is managed by Sohar Industrial Port Company (SIPC), a joint venture between the Port of Rotterdam and the Sultanate of Oman.

www.soharportandfreezone.com

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