Oman Signs $790 Million in Investment Deals Across Its Industrial Zones

Oman has signed 28 investment agreements worth more than OMR 304 million ($790 million) for projects and expansions across its industrial cities, special economic zones, and free zones. The deals were announced by the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones, known as OPAZ.

The largest share, about OMR 147.5 million, will go to projects in industrial cities covering more than 756,000 square metres, including a steel products factory in Sohar valued at more than OMR 112 million. A further OMR 58.5 million goes to Sohar Free Zone, OMR 55.08 million to the Duqm Special Economic Zone, OMR 32.95 million to Salalah Free Zone, and more than OMR 10.4 million to Khazaen Economic City, on a combined area of more than two square kilometres.

Industrial cities take the largest share

The seven industrial-city projects run through Madayn, the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates, across Sohar, Raysut, Ibri and Nizwa, on 756,802 square metres in total. In Sohar, Atlas Iron will build an iron and steel products factory worth more than OMR 112 million on 440,000 square metres, while Fujian Mansheng will invest OMR 20 million in ceramics on more than 241,000 square metres.

In Raysut, Gulf Company for Organic and Biological Fertilizers will invest OMR 7 million in phosphate and nitrogen fertilisers, and Sahm Samhan Trading and Contracting will invest OMR 750,000 in structural metal products, while Ibri gets a National Paper Investment plant worth OMR 500,000 for paper and corrugated cardboard. Nizwa adds Al-Hilal Oil and Gas Services, worth OMR 4 million, and Shandong Youcos Petroleum Equipment, worth OMR 3 million, both for repair, maintenance and parts manufacturing for the oil and gas sector.

In Sohar Free Zone, the deals include an automotive assembly complex spanning 317,000 square metres with OMR 38 million in investment, and a Voltamp factory making power and distribution transformers worth OMR 15 million. The export-oriented mix, with transformers aimed at regional and international markets, shows the zones are being positioned as production bases for the region rather than only for domestic demand.

Lalan Middle East will invest OMR 1.5 million to expand its medical device manufacturing facility, while Five Stars Group will put OMR 3.85 million into a warehouse for sorting used clothing for export. Sohar Port and Freezone chief executive Raid bin Mohammed Al-Rubaiey said the deals reflect a strategy of diversifying the industrial base and localising value-added industries.

Duqm, Salalah and Khazaen spread the rest

In the Duqm Special Economic Zone, the largest single project is the Al-Jazer Feed Factory, a OMR 40 million shrimp-feed factory, alongside a OMR 3.6 million tuna and squid processing factory and a OMR 1.92 million refinery recycling used oils and oil waste. A further OMR 4 million pairs a quarantine facility for imported livestock with a red meat supply facility across more than 526,000 square metres, while a OMR 5.36 million factory will can demersal fish products at 40 to 60 tonnes of fresh fish a day, and a OMR 200,000 residential-commercial building is also planned.

The Duqm slate points to a deliberate food-industry cluster, pairing feed, processing, and livestock handling in one zone. That clustering matters because it lets the zone capture more of the value chain, from raw catch to canned product, instead of exporting unprocessed output.

Salalah Free Zone will host a OMR 19.25 million steel-structure manufacturing project covering more than 22,000 square metres and a OMR 7.7 million gypsum products facility spanning more than 112,000 square metres, alongside a OMR 6 million Italian cheese and dairy project. Salalah Free Zone chief executive Ali bin Mohammed Tabouk said the projects strengthen links between manufacturing, food industries, and supporting services, while using the zone’s connection to Salalah Port and international markets.

In Khazaen Economic City, planned investments include a factory for electric vehicle chargers and components worth more than OMR 3.4 million and a OMR 2.5 million facility producing precast concrete building components. A further OMR 2 million goes to building materials manufacturing, with two OMR 400,000 facilities for ready-mix concrete and a building materials, logistics, and light industry complex, plus a OMR 1 million warehouse for engine oils and vehicle parts and OMR 700,000 of industrial units, a slate that tracks closely with construction demand around Muscat.

The authority and the zones under its supervision were committed to developing an investment environment characterized by regulatory clarity and efficient services, while strengthening partnerships with investors to help their projects benefit from Oman’s infrastructure and strategic location and its connections to regional and global markets.

Qais bin Mohammed Al-Yousef, chairman of OPAZ, was quoted by Oman News Agency as saying.

The agreements come as Oman implements its 11th Five-Year Development Plan for 2026-2030, which aims to diversify the economy, boost private investment, and expand non-oil sectors. Manufacturing is a key growth sector under the plan, with annual growth targeted at 5.9%, alongside efforts to strengthen food security and transport and logistics.

Read together, the 28 deals show a diversification strategy working at zone level rather than only in national slogans, with manufacturing, food, and logistics projects spread across industrial cities and four zones instead of concentrated in one hub. The test now is execution, as these agreements must turn into operating factories and export orders during the current plan period, which runs to 2030.