Oman Oil to invest $3 bn in Indian fertilizer plants

NEW DELHI - The state-run Oman Oil Company will invest around $3 billion to help revive some of India's closed fertilizer plants.

A decision in this regard was taken yon Sunday in Muscat during the sixth Indo-Oman Joint Commission deliberations. A few plants of India's Fertilizer Corporation of India and Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation are closed while another company, the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, needs to expand.

According to an official statement here, the Omani company and the Indian public sector fertilizer firms would soon start the due diligence process for the investment.

India's Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, who is heading the Indian delegation, met with Omani leaders including Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahad bin Mahmoud bin Mohammed Al-Saeed. The two countries have been traditional friends and their representatives agreed to boost bilateral trade and investment.

In 2008, the two countries had signed an agreement to increase the capital of the India-Oman Joint Investment Fund to $1.5 billion from $100 million. Sharma said this would boost the flow of private investments in agriculture, oil and gas, education and infrastructure.

The two-way trade currently stands at $4.5 billion.

India is also the single largest importer of Omani dates.

The Omani side was keen to set up super-speciality hospitals in India. A delegation from Muscat will shortly visit New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore in this regard.

India's Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Oman Oil Marketing Company have also agreed to collaborate and jointly study the possibility of setting up a lube blending plant in Oman.

(Wam)