Oman to produce 1,000 buses

A NEW bus factory in Oman’s Salalah Free Zone (SFZ) is scheduled to start production in the last quarter of this year, a senior official said. MT Asia is being built at a cost of $50 million and will have an annual production capacity of 1,000 buses of all sizes, Ali bin Mohammed Tabuk, CEO of Salalah Free Zone, told Oman News Agency (ONA).

The buses produced by the company will be of high-quality European technology. He added that these buses will be exported to the Gulf, African and Middle Eastern countries, as well as used in the local markets due to their high quality and competitive prices. The factory will provide 250 job opportunities.

Tamkeen plan for small firms

BAHRAIN’S Labour Fund Tamkeen has announced the launch of the kingdom’s Business Continuity Support Program, providing financial grants to small and micro enterprises with an active CR or a valid licence. The program has been launched with the aim of providing adversely affected enterprises with the liquidity to help them continue their operations during this time, said Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, the Chairman of Tamkeen.

He said the program will be available for two weeks to evaluate submitted applications. He further added that this program comes as part of Tamkeen’s ongoing national efforts to support the private sector, alongside other ministries and public authorities, and as part of the economic stimulus packages announced by the Government of Bahrain.

DHL launches freight service

DHL Global Forwarding has launched a dedicated 100-tonne weekly air freight service for organisations and governments shipping goods from China to Africa and Middle East.

Capitalising on Dubai’s strategic geographical location as the gateway to countries in the region, the leading international provider of air, sea and road freight services will consolidate cargo from across China into Guangzhou and air freight them via Dubai to their various destinations across Africa and Middle East, all within two or three days, said the company.