Muscat: Oman’s economic diversification plan is not a “reaction” to the current economic conditions, Dr. Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry said in an interview.

Speaking to local radio station Shabiba FM, Al Sunaidy said: “You cannot build a giant city the size of Duqm with just a reaction,” he said.

“The Sultanate’s decision to establish an integrated city over an area of 2,000 square kilometres and 60 kilometres of Duqm’s beaches was not a short-term one. The decision to establish the Sohar Industrial Zone and its nearby free zone, the Salalah Port and Raysut Industrial Zone, the expansion of the Muscat International Airport and the Salalah International Airport, and the construction of an airport in Sohar were not a reaction but part of the 2020 plan.”

To further highlight this, the Minister of Commerce and Industry pointed out that when compared to the GDP in 1999, which stood at only OMR4.5 billion, Oman’s GDP had reached OMR30 billion by the end of 2018, of which oil only contributed 35 per cent, an indication that economic diversification plans had indeed been in place for a long time.

Al Sunaidy also spoke at length about the decline in oil prices. “The behaviour and reaction of all countries, as a result of this great decline in oil prices, didn’t take into account that the oil sector would not recover in a short time, as compared to previous occasions,” said the minister. “In addition, the alternative sources of energy have become cheaper, if you were to look at solar and wind energy,” he added.

“Exports have not been allowed to expand to aid the recovery of the oil sector. Therefore, now our role is to improve the use of the economic zones in Sohar, Salalah and Duqm, and to expand the businesses that are owned and managed by young Omanis.”