Industry & Retail

The sultanate’s ninth five-year plan, covering 2016-20, is the final component of the government’s long-term Vision 2020 development strategy, and is focused on reducing reliance on the energy sector’s contribution to GDP, while boosting non-petroleum industrial activities such as mining and quarrying, manufacturing, and building and construction. These together accounted for OR5.33bn ($13.8bn), or 19.8% of GDP, in 2015, a share expected to grow to 29% by the end of the decade, even though the sector faces rising pressure from reduced state spending and the ongoing economic downturn in 2015-16. This chapter contains an interview with Hilal bin Hamad Al Hasani, CEO, Public Establishment for Industrial Estates.