Wednesday 19 / November / 2025
Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, is steadfastly advancing a transformative national infrastructure agenda.
The year 2025 has been marked by the implementation of a distinguished portfolio of strategic projects and qualitative initiatives, generating significant progress in land and maritime transport and achieving a notable acceleration in the nation’s digital transformation.
Strategic investments have been a cornerstone of this progress, with the logistics sector attracting over RO 2.6 billion and the communications and IT sector receiving nearly RO 140 million by September 2025.
Demonstrating a firm commitment to its private sector partners, the Ministry has disbursed more than RO 1.2 billion for developmental projects since 2020, including more than RO 227 million in the current year alone.
Regarding the 2025 Employment and Omanization Program, the Omanization rate in the information and communication technology sector reached approximately 67% of the total workforce in technical, specialized, and leadership roles in IT professions across all sectors.
The logistics sector recorded an Omanisation rate of about 59% by the end of September 2025 within technical, specialized, and leadership roles in the transport and logistics sector. Furthermore, the Maritime Employment Initiative contributed to qualifying and employing 230 Omani sailors, supporting efforts to empower national cadres in various fields of transport and maritime services.
Initiatives such as the “Makeen” program have qualified over 10,000 national competencies with advanced digital skills, and targeted efforts in maritime employment and the express delivery sector have successfully integrated hundreds of Omani citizens into the workforce.
The Sultanate of Oman advanced in several international indicators related to the transport, communications, and information technology sectors during 2025. In the 2024 E-Government and M-Government Services Maturity Index issued by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), it advanced by 6%. It also advanced 25 positions to rank first in the Arab world and 50th globally in the Postal Development Index issued by the Universal Postal Union in 2025, securing first place in West Asia and ninth globally in the field of Open Data for 2024. It also won membership in the Postal Investment Council for the period 2025-2029.
The Sultanate of Oman topped the rankings in several pillars of the Digital Economy Explorer Index issued by the Digital Cooperation Organization, achieving first place regionally in the Digital Inclusion pillar, which measures the extent of access for all segments of society to digital opportunities and meeting their diverse needs. It also achieved regional leadership in the Gender Equality pillar of this index.
The Sultanate of Oman achieved a perfect score in the Tech Innovation Legislation and Governance pillar, receiving a full score (100 points), while achieving (92.9 points) in the Communications and Information Technology Sector Legislation pillar, reflecting the readiness of the legislative and regulatory environment supporting the growth of the digital economy.
The report showed a marked improvement in Oman's performance in most pillars of the 2025 Digital Economy Explorer Index compared to 2024, recording a 44.5% increase in Digital Innovation performance, 36.2% growth in the Digital Inclusion pillar, alongside a 33.5% increase in core ICT activities, and 29.3% growth in Digital Finance.
The Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology is working to complete 60 development projects estimated to cost over RO one billion, among which 20 projects have exceeded 70% completion rates.
Foremost among these projects is the completion of remaining work on the Sultan Turki bin Said project (A'Sharqiyah Expressway – Part Two from Al Kamil Wal Wafi to Sur in South A'Sharqiyah Governorate), with a 74% completion rate. This is considered one of the strategic projects that enhances connectivity between the governorates of the Sultanate of Oman and facilitates traffic flow.
The completion rate for the Sultan Faisal bin Turki Road project (Daba – Lima – Khasab road) reached about 58%, exceeding the planned percentage by 6.27%, with work progressing at a good and accelerated pace.
As part of completing vital road projects in Dhofar Governorate, the Ministry has begun work on the dualization project of Sultan Said bin Taimur Road for the third, fourth, and fifth parts, while 185 kilometers of asphalt roads out of 210 kilometers have been completed in the Harwib - Mitan project. Additionally, the completion rate for the dualization project of the Izki - Nizwa - Southern Qaroot road, spanning 30 kilometers, reached 7%.
The Ministry signed an agreement for the project to develop Al Mouj Road and the associated part of 18 November Road. The project includes adding a third lane in each direction on the road from Muscat International Airport Bridge to Al Ishraq Roundabout towards A'Seeb Beach.
It also includes constructing a bridge and quadruple traffic signals at Al Mouj Roundabout, and constructing a flyover and an underpass for vehicles at the existing Al Bahja Roundabout. The Ministry also announced that it is finalizing procedures for awarding the Muscat Expressway expansion project.
Additionally, Omani ports contribute to enhancing local, regional, and international trade. Trade exchange through seaports constituted approximately 66.2% of the total value of exports and imports during the first half of 2025.
The proportion of exports through seaports during the first half of 2025 was about 74.4% of the total export value, while imports through seaports constituted about 64.9% of the total import value, and goods re-exported through seaports constituted about 47%.
Omani ports witnessed an 11.3% increase in the number of ships received during the period from January to August 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Statistics showed remarkable growth in the number of containers handled in Omani ports from January to September 2025, handling over 3.8 million TEUs compared to 3.2 million million TEUs during the same period in 2024, an increase of 16.4%.
Omani ports also saw a rise in the volume of cargo handled from January to September 2025, handling over 105.9 million tons compared to 101.9 million tons during the same period in 2024, an increase of 3.8%.
Maritime Affairs revenues reached just over one million RO during 2025, a 31.24% increase from 2024. The Ministry also issued 212 nautical permits for foreign ships operating in Omani territorial waters during the same year. The number of ships and maritime units registered under the Omani flag reached 584, while the number of ships and maritime units renewed was 1,859. The number of certificates issued to sailors was 1,011, and the number of licenses for maritime activities was 1,578.
The number of transactions completed via the Ministry's "Naql" platform exceeded 250,000 electronic transactions by October 2025, with a completion speed of less than two minutes from application submission, achieving revenues of approximately RO 8 million. The "Naql" platform currently offers 16 electronic services in the land transport sector, covering several areas including taxi licenses, passenger transport by buses, and goods transport.
As part of the Ministry's efforts to support the transition towards sustainable transport, tangible progress has been made in enhancing electric vehicle infrastructure. Over 160 public and private electric vehicle chargers have been installed and operationalized across various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman until the third quarter of 2025, in cooperation with a number of local and international companies. The Ministry also launched the national application for public vehicle chargers, “Shahen,” which allows users to locate chargers, know their operational status, and complete payment processes electronically.
Within the Ministry's initiatives to reduce emissions in the heavy transport sector, pioneering projects have been implemented, most notably the operation of the first station for producing, supplying, and distributing hydrogen in the Sultanate of Oman during the first quarter of 2025, in partnership with Shell Oman. This station is the first of its kind in the Middle East region. Additionally, the first 15 light hydrogen vehicles running on green hydrogen were operationalized. The Ministry also won the Excellence and Innovation Award at the 26th Gulf Engineering Forum for the project of the first truck operating on dual combustion (diesel + hydrogen) in the region, which was designed and operated by a 100% national cadre.
As part of the Ministry's vision to enhance sustainable maritime transport, an usufruct agreement was signed to establish a green ship recycling facility in the Khatmat Milaha, and the project to supply ships at Sohar Port with electrical power while berthing was implemented, contributing to reducing emissions from ship engines while docked in the port.
The Ministry also signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the first integrated facility for producing green methanol in the Sultanate of Oman with a consortium of private companies, aiming to develop an integrated center for producing and supplying ships with green methanol in support of efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the maritime shipping sector.
The Ministry launched the preliminary version of the National Generative AI Language Model as the first specialized government national model, and the globally pioneering Oman Digital Triangle (ODT) initiative in green computing and AI data centers, alongside allocating and launching a special zone for AI-specialized startups. The Green AI Alliance was announced, supporting AI development while preserving the environment, and the AI Studio, the National Open Data Portal were launched and operationalized, and the second version of the AI Makers initiative with partner universities was launched.
Investment volume to support AI projects until 2025 was approximately RO 65 million, and the number of AI-specialized startups reached about 22 companies by 2025.
Regarding the Government Digital Transformation Program; the Unified Portal for Electronic Government Services was launched, incorporating 30 new services from several entities. A video library in sign language to support people with disabilities was also launched. The overall performance of the Government Digital Transformation Program reached 80% for the period between 2021 – May 2025, while the percentage of digitized government services until May 2025 was (74%), and the percentage of government services whose procedures were simplified until May 2025 was (96%).
As part of the Ministry's plans and strategic initiatives for Oman to be the regional gateway for space applications supporting economic diversification; the Ministry launched the Oman Space Accelerator Program to qualify 10 local startup companies in the space field. The Ministry continues to implement the program for building national capacities in the space sector, and the number of companies in the space sector reached about 21 companies.
During 2025, the Ministry, represented by the National Cybersecurity Center, launched the new National Electronic Authentication service (Thiqa), which aims to provide users with a secure digital identity for interacting with government electronic services, and the Cybersecurity Industry Monitoring Center. Two new centers for the cybersecurity industry were also inaugurated, at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences, and at Sultan Qaboos University and Middle East College.
During 2025, the Electronic Transactions Law, the Regulatory Bylaw for Government Digital Transformation, the General Policy for the Safe and Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems, and the Regulatory Framework for National Data Governance and Management were issued.
The total number of beneficiaries from the "Makeen" initiative to qualify Omani youth with advanced digital skills since its launch in September 2022 until November 2025 exceeded 10,000 trainees, including 1,325 trainees from the beginning of 2025 until this November. The total number of qualification and training programs reached 124 programs, 53 of which were from the beginning of 2025.
SAS for Digital Innovation works to create a supportive ecosystem for the growth and development of startups, and small and medium enterprises, creating a competitive environment stimulating innovation and digital entrepreneurship, and enhancing the supportive legislative environment. The Ministry focuses at this stage on supporting growing tech startups through a number of initiatives and projects to serve these companies, most notably: adopting the Oman Startup Platform and supervising its re-launch. The platform is a digital interface for the startup ecosystem in the Sultanate of Oman, where startups meet supporting entities, investors, and consultants for communication, collaboration, and exchanging knowledge and experiences about the ecosystem. Over 200 startups and 48 incubators/accelerators have been registered, with funding exceeding $330 million for tech startups.
The Ministry is also working on implementing the "Jadarah" initiative, which aims to facilitate the access and experience of locally developed tech products in government institutions and government-owned companies, and enhance partnership opportunities between the public and private sectors. Since its launch in 2022, the initiative has seen gradual expansion in the number of participating companies, with the announcement of 14 companies joining the fourth cohort of the Jadarah program this year. A number of tech solutions have been trialed in real operational environments, alongside providing financial and advisory support to enhance their commercial and technical readiness.
The Ministry also launched the "Nomou" program in 2023, which works to support Omani tech startups in the growth stage by providing services that contribute to accelerating their growth and expansion in local and regional markets. This year, the joining of 44 companies in the second cohort of the Nomou program was announced. The program includes providing specialized workshops and services for promoting startup products, in addition to supporting their participation in regional events and exhibitions and connecting them with various business opportunities to enhance their market presence.
