Oman plans to allocate huge land in Dhofar for ‘green’ investors

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Oman’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning is seeking approvals for an estimated 450 million square metres of land in Dhofar governorate for renewables and green hydrogen projects.

The process is being facilitated in coordination with several concerned ministries and government agencies, Sultan Al Ghafri, director general of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning in the Governorate of Dhofar, told Oman Daily Observer.

The aim is to attract local and foreign investment in green energy projects, as well as upgrade housing services and urban planning to meet stipulated benchmarks. 

The government has established a Directorate General for Clean Energy and Hydrogen at the Ministry of Energy and Minerals to support foreign companies looking at investing in the Omani alternative energy sector, AGBI reported.

The Energy Development Oman, a government-owned firm that aims to support the sultanate’s energy transition, will gain a new subsidiary called Hydrogen Development Oman. 

Some $30 billion worth of investments have been proposed in the Omani hydrogen sector, and that figure could grow as the global market and regulatory frameworks expand.

Oman’s budget recorded a surplus of 357 million rials ($929.7 million) by the end of the first quarter, boosted by a more than 70 percent rise in oil revenue as output and prices surged, Reuters reported earlier this month, citing data from the finance ministry.

That compared with a deficit of 751 million rials in the same period a year earlier, the ministry’s monthly bulletin showed.