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Oman’s health care sector has undergone rapid development since 1970, with average life expectancy boosted to 76.6 years and the number of hospitals growing to 67 in 2014. The private sector has also witnessed expansion, with the authorities particularly encouraging its participation in the provision of care for lifestyle-related diseases. Health Vision 2050 is the sultanate’s long-term sector strategy and aims to support an “efficient and responsive” health system for a healthy and productive population. The government is also looking to reduce the need for citizens to travel abroad for specialty care, with greater investments taking place in specialty care hospitals, representing a cost-effective and efficient use of public spending. This chapter contains an interview with Dr Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Obaid Al Saidi, Minister of Health.

Successive five-year plans have seen Oman’s education system evolve rapidly, with highlights including the expansion of special education programs and the development of teacher-training colleges. In 2013 almost all children in the sultanate were enrolled in school while almost 98% of students completed primary school that year and 92% were enrolled in secondary school. Despite a drop in oil and gas revenues, the sultanate maintained its commitment to education spending in its 2015 budget, with the sector retaining a major share of state expenditure. This will enable a greater focus on both developing the physical infrastructure of the sector and improving the quality of its delivery. Meanwhile a national TVET strategy has been designed to address any mismatches between the requirements of the labor market and the skills and abilities of graduates.

2015 proved a record year for Oman’s tourist industry, with the number of incoming visitors topping those of previous years and wide media coverage promoting the country’s increasingly cemented status as a niche tourism destination. The preservation of the country’s natural surroundings and cultural traditions has allowed it to keep much of the spirit of “Old Arabia”, and indeed tourism has been deliberately kept at the high end, with marketing aimed at visitors who are interested in engaging with local culture, nature and history. Meanwhile, various developments look set to bolster the sector moving forward, with the ongoing expansion of Muscat International Airport a prime example. A new terminal is currently under construction which will boast an expected capacity of 12m passengers per annum, with further capacity to accommodate four times that number in the future. This chapter contains and interview with Ali Al Rasbi, Acting CEO, Omran.

Oman’s agriculture & fisheries sectors are slated for significant expansion in the years to come as authorities aim to build them up into major contributors to the economy, key employers and significant sources for export earnings. Oman’s Vision 2020 sets the target of raising the agricultural sector’s contribution to GDP to 3.1% by 2020, with annual growth topping 4.5%. It also intends to boost the fishing sector to around 2% of GDP by 2020, with growth of 5.6% per annum. Oman’s is a predominately dry climate, meaning the preservation and efficient use of water is a key priority. To this end, the ministry announced plans in July 2015 to introduce smart meters for projects requiring large amounts of water.

Oman’s public authorities are in the midst of a multi-billion-rial investment programme designed to expand and improve the country’s transport and logistics capacities across land, sea and air. Salalah, the country’s largest port, has recently shifted its focus towards import/export traffic, with a new 20-year master plan launched in 2011 aiming to establish multi-modal links at the port and boost logistics facilities at the nearby free-zone. Meanwhile, the government is currently working on completing the $3.9bn Batinah Expressway, which will be an extension of the Muscat Expressway and continue for 265 km to the UAE border, while the nine-segment national rail project is planned to cover a total of 2135 km at a cost of $15.5bn, with 1414 km under tender so far and $6bn already invested. Elsewhere, expansion works at Salalah Airport have been completed, with $765m invested in a new passenger terminal, air traffic control tower, ancillary buildings and connecting roads. This chapter contains an interview with Peter Young, Director, Oman Logistics Centre; and Abdulrahman Al Hatmi, Director, Oman Rail.

In recognition of its varied physical, ethnic and cultural landscape, Oman has long been divided into regions, with the government and the sultan keen to achieve a much more equitable and sustainable economic balance between them. Oman’s current long-term development plan includes provisions targeting this goal, as well as plans focused on greater regional authority. Special economic zones (SEZs) are at the heart of this strategy. The city of Sohar is quickly becoming an entrepreneurial centre as it encourages SMEs to locate to its free zone in order to promote sustainable economic growth in the region. Meanwhile, further south, the Port of Duqm is at the heart of the SEZ being established in the sparsely populated central region that is home to Oman’s oil and gas industry. Further south still, the Salalah Free Zone is home to one of the world’s foremost trans-shipment hubs due to its strategic location between key East African, South Asian and Gulf routes. This chapter contains interviews with Yahya bin Said bin Abdullah Al Jabri, Chairman, Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm; and Sheikh Aimen Al Hosni, CEO, Oman Airports Management Company.