IFC Grants Funding for $1.6 Billion Polysilicon Project in Oman

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has given the go-ahead to a loan and investment of up to USD 250 million (EUR 214.8m) to back United Solar Polysilicon’s (USP) polysilicon production project in Sohar, Oman.

Solar cells. Author: Steve Rainwater. License: Creative Commons: Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

The financing package consists of a loan of up to USD 200 million and a USD-50-million preferred equity investment, according to IFC's website.

The approval was given through voting, which faced opposition from the IFC's US executive director, insiders have told Reuters. According to them, three other executive directors on the IFC board, including those representing Germany, the Netherlands and Nordic countries, have abstained from the vote. The news agency pointed out that the project has some links to China through the developer's founder -- former Daqo New Energy CEO Zhang Longgen.

USP plans to build a factory in the Sohar Port and Freezone that will be capable of producing 100,000 tonnes of polysilicon annually, a project that will entail an investment of USD 1.6 billion. The foundation stone for the facility, poised to be the first of its scale in the Middle East, was laid a year ago.

In October 2024, the Future Fund Oman (FFO), an investment vehicle launched by Omani sovereign wealth fund Oman Investment Authority (OIA), invested USD 156 million in the development.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.859)