Oman's economic plans and measures praised by Frontera International Centre

Singapore: A report published by Singapore-based Frontera Research and Intelligence Centre, the most renowned investment centres in Asia, hailed the efforts made by the Sultanate's government to ensure economic development.
The report said that the Sultanate managed to avoid the negative effects of the fluctuation of oil prices in world oil market.
The Centre said in its report for May 2017 that despite the oil price drop, which negatively affected many GCC budgets, the Sultanate's government remained committed to implementing the infrastructure projects at the various parts of the Sultanate. The report added that the construction sector accounts for about 8 per cent of the Sultanate's GDP.
It also noted that Sultanate's government has identified transport and logistics services as a priority in the 9th five-year development plan, especially the sector is a key driver for the development process in the region. It affirmed that the Sultanate's government seeks to double the number of job opportunities in logistic and transport sector to 80,000 and its contribution to the GDP by 2020.
The report further added that that underway planned key infrastructure projects cover a large number of sectors including transport, logistic services, oil & gas and construction. As per the report, the 2,135 km long railway project which connects Sohar, Salalah and Duqm with about $12 billion to $15.6 billion worth of investments is the biggest mega project implemented by the government.
The report also pointed out that the Duqm Port development projects include the construction of two container terminals with a capacity of 3.5 million TEU by 2019. The infrastructure and construction projects during the coming three years include road, helicopter pads, potable water network, electricity, communication and other service projects.
The report hailed the efforts made to develop Sohar Port and increase its capacity to 5 million TEU by 2020. About 95per cent of the Free Zone has been already developed and leased.
The report pointed out that the Salalah Port development projects include adding three container terminals, tourist terminals and other terminals to increase the port capacity to 7.5 million TEU.
It praised the efforts made to develop gas reservoirs in Khazzan and Makarem gas fields which cover about 2800 km. The project, which is expected to provide one third of the Sultanate's gas supplies, includes the digging of 300 wells throughout more than 15 years.
The report added that the Sultanate's government implemented a number five-year development plans, the latest of which was the 9th five-year development plan (2016-2020) which is the last plan at Oman Vision 2020.
The report pointed out that the 9th five-year development plan aims at diversifying the economy, maximising the contribution of the private sector to the development process, increasing the Omani participation in the private sector and ensuring financial compliance with the budget. The plan targets 3 per cent growth rate in average per annum and constraining annual inflation to 2.9 per cent . It also seeks to reduce the contribution of oil sector to the GDP from 44 per cent to 26 per cent .