Four months after breaking ground at Sohar Freezone, the structural frame of the first building is complete on the 200,000 tpa project, one of the few large Chinese anode builds still progressing outside China.
Zhongke Xingcheng, the anode materials subsidiary of China’s Zhongke Electric, has reported the first structural milestone at its integrated lithium-ion battery anode materials base in Sohar Freezone, Oman, having completed the structural frame of the Phase 1 office building on 10 September.
More significantly, the company reaffirmed that the first stage of Phase 1 is planned to be progressively completed and brought into production in 2027, keeping the project on the timeline set when civil works began in May.
Oman is one of the few large Chinese anode projects still being built outside China after Zhongke Electric scrapped three others in June. Completing the first structural frame four months after groundbreaking, with the 2027 target reaffirmed, suggests the schedule is holding. If met, Sohar would add tariff-advantaged ex-China anode supply for customers in Europe, the Middle East and beyond.
The Announcement
The completed structure is the Phase 1 composite building attached to the carbonisation workshop, which the company said will become the operational management hub for the Oman base under Zhongke Electric’s new energy materials division.
Zhongke Xingcheng said it acted as project owner coordinating the design, supervision and general contracting partners, citing high-temperature working conditions and cross-border coordination as the main challenges. Safety, quality and schedule were managed as parallel priorities, it said, with the aim of shortening the construction cycle.
The company described the milestone as the transition from single-discipline civil works to overlapping, multi-trade construction.
What Comes Next
The company said work now moves to the following packages, with continued control of quality, safety and schedule:
- Secondary structural works.
- Fit-out and finishing.
- Mechanical and electrical installation.
The stated aim is to convert construction milestones into delivery capacity as quickly as possible, with the first stage of Phase 1 progressively entering production from 2027.
The Project
The Oman base is planned at 200,000 tpa of anode materials, developed in two phases. The company said the first stage of Phase 1 is intended to match the overseas expansion needs of its global customers while retaining spare capacity for market delivery.
It pointed to two structural advantages of the Sohar location. First, Oman’s free trade agreements allow product to reach overseas markets while navigating trade barriers. Second, local petrochemical feedstock and wind and solar resources support a cost advantage the company expects to strengthen over time. It summarised the strategy as local manufacturing, global delivery, and said the project is intended to capture the window created by the build-out of lithium-ion supply chains outside China.
Capacity, phasing and timing are as stated by the company. Total investment was capped at ~US$1.2bn (RMB 8bn) in the June 2025 board approval, with each 100,000 tpa phase originally envisaged as a 36-month build; the company has said subsequent phases will be sequenced against market conditions and customer demand. RMB converted at 6.71.
Background
Hunan Zhongke Electric, listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange under 300035, is one of China’s largest anode materials producers through its Zhongke Xingcheng subsidiary, ranking third in domestic anode shipments in 2025 according to EVTank. Lithium battery materials accounted for ~94% of group revenue last year.
The Oman project was approved by the board in June 2025 and formally broke ground at Sohar Freezone on 8 May 2026 following roughly a year of preparatory work. Oman’s Ministry of Information and Invest Oman have described the investment as ~US$1bn and the facility as one of the company’s largest production bases outside China. In June 2026 the company terminated three other planned anode projects, in Sichuan, Gansu and Morocco, with combined planned capacity of 330,000 tpa and investment of ~US$1.5bn, to focus resources on Oman and its 300,000 tpa base in Luzhou, Sichuan.
Statements regarding the timing of completion, commissioning and commercial production at the Oman base are forward-looking and subject to construction, permitting, equipment delivery and market conditions.
Primary source: Zhongke Xingcheng, “越洋筑梦，金顶初成” (Structural frame of the Phase 1 composite building at the Oman lithium-ion battery anode materials integrated base project completed), company WeChat release, 10 September 2026 — view announcement.
Supporting references:
• Oman Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Oman hosts strategic project for production of lithium-ion batteries”, 31 May 2026 — fm.gov.om
• MEED, “Chinese firm breaks ground on $1.1bn Oman battery plant”, 3 June 2026 — meed.com
• Yicai Global, “China’s Zhongke to Build Lithium Battery Material Plant in Oman for USD1.1 Billion”, 5 June 2025 — yicaiglobal.com
• Zhongke Electric Shenzhen Stock Exchange filings on the Oman project (June 2025 approval, May 2026 commencement, June 2026 project terminations).
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