DUBAI — Oman’s government has signed to obtain 81 million Omani rials ($210 million) of financing from Saudi Arabia for one of its key industrial projects, in a deal that could help to ease concern about the health of the sultanate’s finances.

The money will come from the Saudi Fund for Development, a state agency, to support work at Duqm, where Oman is building a multi-billion-dollar industrial zone on its southern coast, the official Oman News Agency (ONA) said.

The 81 million rials of aid for Duqm is part of the $10 billion regional program, ONA said without giving financial details. Twenty million rials will go towards building a road and 61 million rials towards developing Duqm’s fishing harbor.

Oman plans to make Duqm a major center for its fishing and fish processing industries, in addition to building an oil refinery, a petrochemical complex and a wide range of manufacturing facilities in the zone.

ONA quoted Yousef bin Ibrahim Al-Bassam, managing director of the Saudi fund, as saying it had also allocated $150 million to finance the growth of smaller companies in Oman, and would extend the aid in cooperation with Oman Development Bank.

Recently the Friends of Oman Group in the European Parliament, headed by Ramona Nicole Manescu, visited the Special Economic Zone in Duqm (SEZD) on to see the projects implemented and the investment opportunities available there.

Yahya Bin Said Al-Jabri, chairperson of the Special Economic Zone Authority in Duqm (SEZAD) said that SEZAD offered many facilities to investors pointing out at the same time SEZD geographical location and the local and international status it has achieved since its establishment late 2011. — Reuters