Oman’s Renaissance Duqm Accommodation Company (RDAC), a subsidiary of accommodation and facilities manager Renaissance Services, has signed a US$90 million sustainability-linked financing agreement with Bank Nizwa to support its Duqm projects.
The facility represents Renaissance Services’s first sustainability-linked financing, Raashid Ali, the CFO of the Muscat Stock Exchange-listed company, shared.
“Through this partnership, Bank Nizwa will be supporting the development of sustainable workforce accommodation projects undertaken by RDAC,” Khalid Al Barwani, the deputy general manager and head of wholesale banking group at Bank Nizwa, commented.
The facility will finance the development of the RDAC’s Renaissance Village Duqm in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD). Within the Renaissance Village Duqm, the RDAC’s workforce accommodation facility will be accessible to employees within the special economic zone.
The project is part of the Omani government’s smart city and global logistics hub effort, which is expected to contribute to the country’s economic diversification. The government is envisioning the SEZAD as a focal point for investors targeting it to be a destination for economic activities and a multi-model hub by 2030.
In another partnership with SEZAD, Renaissance Services is also one of eight founding members of the Tawasul Fund, which was born from the vision to establish a CSR section for SEZAD. The fund seeks to bridge the public, private and charitable organizations within the Al Wusta governorate to support social projects.
The Tawasul Fund’s objectives include the supporting and financing of social research for social welfare and development projects pertinent to SEZAD.
The US$90 million facility follows Bank Nizwa’s introduction of sustainability-linked financing to Oman in May 2023. The sultanate’s debut sustainability-linked facility was between Bank Nizwa and the Duqm Development Company, a subsidiary of ASYAD Group, for an undisclosed amount.
Through its wholesale banking arm, Bank Nizwa is seeking to support key national projects and foster the development of a green and circular economy in Oman.