The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector financing arm of the World Bank, has approved a loan of up to $250 million for a polysilicon manufacturing facility in Oman.

Omani company United Solar Polysilicon (FZC) SPC began construction of the facility in March 2024. It is being built in the Sohar Freezone in northern Oman and is set to cover an area of around one million square meters.

Once at full capacity, the facility will be capable of supplying enough polysilicon to manufacture 40 GW of solar modules annually.

IFC’s investment package consists of a $200 million loan for the implementation of the project and a $50 million preferred equity investment, according to a disclosure published on the corporation’s website.

According to reports first published by Reuters, IFC’s funding was approved via voting but received opposition from the corporation’s US executive director. A U.S Treasury spokesperson told the publisher the US “will continue to use its voice and vote at the World Bank Group, as well as at all other multilateral institutions, to pursue America First principles”.

A further three executive directors on the IFC board, representing Germany, the Netherlands and the Nordic countries, are said to have abstained from the vote. Reuters’ report added that United Solar Polysilicon has links to China, partially through its chairman and founder Zhang Longgen.

The polysilicon production facility has also been backed by a $156 million investment from Future Fund Oman, a financing mechanism controlled by the sovereign wealth fund of Oman.