Oman lines up projects worth almost $1bn to boost growth

Oman has awarded projects worth OMR363 million ($940 million) as part of efforts to boost growth and spark job creation in 2026, the sultanate’s economy minister said. 

The projects, which include road construction, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and food processing, will be carried out from the first quarter of this year. 

“These projects will boost the economy, diversify the government’s income and have the potential to create thousands of jobs,” the minister, Said Al Saqri, told Oman Television.

He added that his ministry is now targeting job creation for Omani nationals at a rate of 35,000 a year “from project investments across the country”. 

“I am also expecting the Omani economy to grow by 2.6 percent in 2026 compared to 2.2 percent in 2025,” Al Saqri added. 

The government is heavily dependent on oil and gas revenue, which makes up more than 70 percent of national income. 

The sultanate’s crude oil revenues in the first nine months of 2025 fell 2.2 percent year on year to $27.6 billion on lower selling prices, while gas income surged 53 percent to $6.7 billion on rising domestic demand.

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About 57,000 Omanis found jobs between January and November in the private and government sectors, an average of over 5,180 a month, the manpower ministry said. The figures marked a rise of 11 percent from a year earlier. 

Last year the sultanate signed a number of contracts for mineral mining with international companies as part of its diversification efforts.

It has also attracted about $5 billion in investment since 2022 for projects in its economic free zones.