The much-delayed Muscat University project - first announced in 2006 - has raised RO19mn in funds after the government gave the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) permission to establish the private university last year.
The university will focus on preparing students for Oman's growing private sector and provide the domestic market with the highly skilled labour it will need as the sultanate continues to diversify its economy away from oil and gas. Khalil al Khonji, chairman of Muscat University and the OCCI, said the chamber had "been struggling to get the licence for the last five years," but was finally shown the green signal late last year.
Speaking after the OCCI's annual general meeting, he said, "At the end of last year we received the permission as a chamber to go ahead and establish it. "We have had a meeting with businessmen and businesswomen.
They have already committed about RO19mn. "Now we have to send invitations to bigger groups and we hope that in the coming months we will open the office."
The total cost of establishing the university is expected to be RO50mn, with RO20mn coming from the government and another RO20mn being raised through contributions from the institute's founders. Initially proposed in 2006 by incorporating existing colleges in the Muscat area, the university will have faculties of health, engineering, sciences, media and arts, meteorology, business administration and legal studies.
The proposed location for the university is Halban, near Barka, but Khonji told Muscat Daily that the land has yet to be granted. Khonji added that the university will cater to the growing needs of fostering entrepreneurship in Oman, as the country looks to develop its human resources. He said, "Omanis are willing, but we need the tools.
The financing is there, but we need an academy. At private universities like Muscat University, the core focus will be business."
© Muscat Daily 2012
