Oman is intensifying efforts to curb plastic pollution with plans for a major investment of up to $50 million in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste recycling. A flagship initiative under this drive is the development of a recycling facility at the Salalah Free Zone in Dhofar Governorate.
The project will be developed by Austria-based Next Generation Recycling Solutions on a 15,000-square-metre site and will focus on producing high-quality, hot-washed, food-grade recycled PET (rPET) flakes. Produced from cleaned and shredded PET waste, the rPET flakes will be used as secondary raw materials for manufacturing new plastic products, particularly for food packaging and textile applications.
According to the Salalah Free Zone Authority, the project represents a long-term investment exceeding $50 million and will be implemented in multiple phases over a 30-year period. The phased development will include capacity expansion of existing PET recycling lines, the establishment of collection facilities across Oman, and the potential future recycling of other plastic polymers such as HDPE and LDPE.
The initiative is designed to support the growth of an integrated industrial ecosystem while leveraging Salalah’s strategic logistics position as a key export hub serving European and US markets, in line with Oman Vision 2040.
Next Generation Recycling Oman was established through a partnership with a leading Indonesian recycled PET producer founded in 2019 in Tangerang’s Periuk district. The partner supplies PET flakes and granules to global textile and food-packaging markets across the Middle East, Europe, and the US, helping to reduce plastic and microplastic pollution.