Number of industrial units in the country reach 754 this year
Oman has attracted more than nine billion dollars in industrial investment as part of an intensive drive to diversify its hydrocarbon-reliant economy, the Gulf country's Minister of Commerce and Industry was reported on Monday as saying.
Makbool bin Ali Sultan said around RO400 million ($1.04 billion) in manufacturing capital was pumped into the country's industrial zones this year.
The new capital boosted the country's total industrial investments to around RO3.5 billion ($9.3 billion) towards the end of 2010 compared with RO3.2 billion ($8.32 billion) at the end of 2009, he told the Omani daily Alwatan.
"The area of industrial investment zones also increased by nearly 18.6 per cent to 28.8 million square metres from 24.3 million square metres," he said.
His figures showed the number of industrial units in non-OPEC Oman stood at 754 this year while there are 117 commercial investment units, 14 services enterprises and 110 repair and maintenance workshops.
Sultan said heavy investments in the manufacturing sector has sharply expanded the non-oil industrial sector's contribution to Oman's economy, rising from a negligible 0.3 per cent in 1979 to over 10 per cent this month.
Like other Gulf oil exporters, Oman has been locked in a drive to diversify its economy and ease reliance on crude sales, with a focus on manufacturing given the region's abundant energy resources and relatively cheap labour.
But oil has remained the dominant source of income in the region, providing more than two thirds of Oman's total revenue.
Oman sits atop around 4.5 billion barrels of proven oil deposits and nearly 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Oman's industrial investments account for just over six per cent of the total capital of nearly $150 billion invested in the non-oil manufacturing sector in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which also groups the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
© Emirates 24|7 2010
