Oman: Cumulative investment in the Duqm Special Economic Zone reaches approximately $23 billion by June
Muscat, Sept 23 (KUNA) -- The Oman Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones announced on Wednesday that the cumulative committed investment in the Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZ) reached 8.818 billion Omani rials (approximately 22.9 billion US dollars) as of the end of June last year, representing a growth rate of 141 percent compared to 2021 levels.
The Oman News Agency quoted Qais Al-Yousef, head of the Authority, as saying that this rise reflects the improvement in the investment environment in the Duqm SEZ over the past five years, the development of the zone’s infrastructure, and the efforts made to attract investments, in addition to the incentives and facilitations offered by the zone to investors.
Al-Yousef added that Duqm Port recorded growth in container handling, rolling stock, oil and gas field pipelines, and various other goods required by projects being implemented in the zone.
He noted that total cargo handling at Duqm Port increased by 5,667 percent, dry bulk cargo handling rose by 3,879 percent, and rolling stock handling grew by 8,217 percent during the period from 2021 to 2025.
Regarding the Duqm Refinery—a strategic joint venture between the State of Kuwait and the Sultanate of Oman—Al-Yousef stated that it has been able to increase its production capacity to 255,000 barrels per day, while the dry dock has completed approximately 1,340 projects since 2020 through the end of last year.
He affirmed the Oman Public Authority for Special Economic Zones’ commitment to localizing several other projects in the Duqm SEZ, in line with the Sultanate’s plans for carbon neutrality and the efforts being made to develop the green hydrogen sector.
He pointed out that the Duqm SEZ is also working to attract numerous other projects in the tourism, commercial, and logistics sectors, as well as creating conditions that ensure the stability of workers in the zone by attracting educational and healthcare projects.
In another development, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, Sultan of Oman, visited the Duqm SEZ today, where he reviewed the key economic, investment, and development projects in the zone, as well as the investment expansion it has witnessed in recent years, in addition to the efforts being made to transform it into an integrated economic zone.
The Duqm SEZ is located in the Central Region in the heart of the Sultanate of Oman, 550 kilometers from the capital, Muscat. It is the largest in the Middle East and North Africa, spanning an area of 2,000 square kilometers.
The zone contains several economic, tourism, and service development areas, most notably a multi-purpose port, a dry dock for ship repair, a fishing port, an oil refinery, a regional airport, and tourism, industrial, and logistics zones.
It is worth noting that the State of Kuwait and the Sultanate of Oman officially inaugurated the Duqm Refinery in February 2024. It is a joint venture between Oman’s Global Integrated Energy Group (OQ) and Kuwait’s Global Petroleum Company (Q8), a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, with each party holding a 50 percent stake. It is considered the first fully integrated commercial refinery in the Middle East that does not rely on local crude oil but instead draws from diverse sources in global markets, exporting its products to Asia, Africa, and Europe.
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