Oman’s Duqm special economic zone draws $7.5bn investment

Oman has signed 10 agreements and memoranda of understanding, drawing investments worth nearly OMR3 billion ($7.5 billion) to establish new projects within its Duqm special economic zone.

The agreements were signed by the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (Opaz), the state-owned Oman News Agency reported.

Among the largest investments is the OMR1.6 billion second and third phases of Acme’s green hydrogen project.

Other deals include an OMR350 million power plant by Al Sahel Power Company, an OMR192 million plant to make battery anode materials for electric vehicles, and an OMR30 million residential city for Jindal Steel employees with 500 housing units.

Three memoranda of cooperation were also signed with Oman-based companies. The first covered an investment of OMR288 million in a natural gas liquids separation and treatment plant with the state-run OQ Group.

The second involved an OMR192 million integrated industrial complex with Trot Holding Company, while the third included an OMR185 million integrated tourism and technology complex by Ruby Investment and Development Company, with hotels and a retail centre.

The new projects keep pace with global trends in investment in the green economy, renewable energy and EV battery components, said Opaz chairman Qais Al Yousef.

The agreements signed include investments from China, India, South Korea, the Philippines, Germany and Egypt, as well as from government and private companies in the sultanate, he said.

This week, Future Fund Oman (FFO) announced investments totalling OMR 570 million ($1.5 billion) across several vital sectors in the sultanate.

The Gulf state has also broken ground on a $4.2 billion agricultural city in the north of the country as part of a wider food security strategy.

Further reading:

• Long-term vision behind demand for Oman’s golden visa
• Omani fund allocates $1.5bn for priority sectors
• Government and corporate borrowing helps Oman banks prosper