MUSCAT, OMAN — Salalah Mills announced on Aug. 27 that it is planning to expand by building a new 600-–tonne-per-24-hour flour mill in Oman.  Currently the company’s flour production capacity is 1,500 tonnes per day.

The company noted that it reached 94% capacity utilization last year and 100% utilization in the first half of the current year. The new expansion will provide flour for growing demands in the domestic market and export markets, which is sold under the brand name “Al Khareef.”

The company said that the expansion is estimated to cost OMR$7.5 million ($19 million) and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2017.  

“The new production expansion project comes within the company’s strategy to promote the company as the biggest flour miller in Oman and one of the largest flour mills in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries and exploit the company’s earlier investment in increasing grain storage capacity and higher discharge rate of wheat in the Port of Salalah,” the company said.

Earlier in August the company also approved a project to build a polypropylene bag factory. The estimated cost is OMR$4 million ($10 million). The new facility will have the production capacity of 48 million bags per year. Production is expected to begin at the end of 2016. Salalah said the project was financed by equipment suppliers and commercial loans.

In July, Salalah Mills announced that its earnings for the first half of 2015 ending June 30 were OMR$2.8 million ($5 million), down 13% from OMR$3.2 million ($7 million) for the same period last year.