Muscat: The members of Majlis Ash’shura reviewed details of the local and international investments and growth indicators of projects in the special economic zones and free zones across the Sultanate of Oman, through a visual display presented by Dr Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidi, Chairman of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones, on Sunday.
During the presentation, Dr Al Sunaidi explained the authority’s objectives in creating economic drives that strive to employ the competitive advantages of the Sultanate of Oman to realize a balanced, diversified and sustainable economic development by exploiting natural resources domestically including oil and gas, renewable energy, minerals and fisheries wealth in a manner that boosts local value added. This is in addition to developing the tourism industry and generating job opportunities.
Al Sunaidi also spoke about the most prominent advantages and incentives offered by the authority which include exemption of equipment and raw materials from customs duties, exemption from corporate income tax for a specific period of time, allowing foreign capital, no restrictions on the importing, trading and transferring of foreign currencies, in addition to granting usufruct rights to state-owned lands for a long-term period.
The visual presentation explained the most prominent achievements of the economic zones, projects and investment alliances particularly in the Special Economic Zone of Duqm which represents a development engine in the Al Wusta Governorate and a regional hub for renewable energy, hydrocarbons and logistics services, and a base for the export industry.
The members of Majlis Ash’shura raised a number of questions focusing on the volume of actual investments and their growth indicators in the economic and free zones, the mechanisms for selecting the locations of zones, the extent to which the zones are prepared to use alternative energy in light of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The members also discussed the most important challenges that affect attracting foreign direct and local investments to the special economic zones and free zones and the government’s efforts to overcome these challenges in a way that enhances investment opportunities and boosts revenues to GDP and the importance of digital transformation in this field.
The members of Majlis Ash’shura discussed with the chairman of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones the extent to which the industrial zones contribute to the GDP. They discussed ways of enhancing investment opportunities in a way that boosts the expected growth rates.
Responding to a member’s question about the delay in clearing investment procedures in the economic and free zones, Al Sunaidi said that the one-stop-shop makes it easier for investors to clear investment procedures related to the economic and free zones.
Some members stressed the importance of providing job opportunities for Omanis in various specializations, while others pointed out the importance of prioritizing the local community in employment. The members emphasized the importance of having clear-cut economic feasibility studies for young Omanis’ projects to facilitate their implementation in the economic and free zones.
