Oman to invest $260m in logistics to spur growth

Oman is expanding its logistics sector with a series of projects this year worth $260 million to improve its facilities and spur growth in the GCC’s second-smallest economy by GDP.

The government-led plan was made public this week to mark Oman 2025 Logistics Day. The investment will mainly go into developing free trade zones, airports and ports across the country. 

“We aim for the logistics sector to become the second-largest contributor to Oman’s GDP,” Abdullah Al-Busaidi, acting head of state-run Oman Logistics Center, said in a public speech.

Last year, Oman’s logistics sector was worth almost $6 billion, up 12 percent year on year, and accounted for 6 percent of GDP, Al-Busaidi said.

The target is to increase this more than 15-fold to $93 billion by 2040, focusing on new logistics technologies, international trade, market development and connectivity, he said.

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“Last year, Oman attracted more than $10 billion of investments from the logistics businesses such as free zones, airports and ports,” Al-Busaidi, said. “That means we are making our mark as a main regional business hub.”

Oman relies heavily on its free trade zones for its logistics activities, dominating freight services and the movements of goods.

Statistics show that, last year, a special economic zone at Duqm on the Indian Ocean coast led the way in attracting investment, with $3 billion from private business, followed by the Sohar free trade zone on the Gulf of Oman with a little under $2 billion.