Industry

Manufacturing is on track to reach the target contribution of 15% of GDP by 2020 laid out by Oman’s Vision 2020 economic development plan, which was first announced in 1995. Indeed, Oman has accomplished 70% of its ambitions in Vision 2020, Talal bin Sulaiman Al Rahbi, deputy secretary general of the Supreme Council of Planning, told local media in October 2019. Past decades have seen manufacturing’s contribution to GDP rise from under 1% in 1980 to 9.6% in 2018, and it is expected to rise further. Room remains to broaden the industrial base: under the long-term plan Vision 2040, the government is looking to encourage the adoption of technology in manufacturing to enhance competitiveness and increase output. This chapter contains interviews with Hilal bin Hamad Al Hasani, CEO, Public Establishment for Industrial Estates; and Sheikh Khalil Al Harthy, CEO, Credit Oman.