Oman's first space economic zone officially launches construction

Source：https://www.agbi.com/tech/2025/01/oman-starts-work-on-first-space-economic-zone/

According to reports from multiple media outlets, including Oman Observer and Arabian Gulf Business Insight, on January 16, 2025, Oman's first space economic zone, formally known as Zone 88, has officially commenced construction at a designated site within the Special Economic Zone in Al Dugm.

Project overview

It is reported that the project is being undertaken by the Global Space and Technology Company. The zone consists of five projects: a space habitat center, a commercial space launch area, an unmanned vehicles technology center, an artificial intelligence and advanced technology testing area, and a ground station.

The feature of the facility is an Artificial Intelligence (Al) and Advanced Technolog)Experimentation Zone aimed at facilitating experimental research and tests linked tospace and artificial intelligence for companies and scientific institutions.

Additionally, a drone technology centre is being set up with the aim of providing ascientific and practical environment for aerial, terrestrial, and marine drones. Rounding off the list is a ground transmission and reception station aimed at providinginfrastructure services to global governments and local companies.

Upon completion, this one of its kind project is expected to contribute significantly toOman's ambitious plans of positioning itself as a global space hub.

According to the CEO of the Global Space and Technology Company, the project is expected to significantly contribute to Oman's localeconomy through facilitating knowledge transfer, job creation, and positioning Oman asa space investment hub. Currently the space sector contributes 0.05 per cent to the locaGDP with a market value of $155 million as of 2021.

Extended introduction

The Special Economic Zone at Duqm located in Al Wusta Governorate in the center of the Sultanate of Oman, at a distance of 550 square kilometers from the capital Muscat, The Special Economic Zone at Duqm is the largest in the Middle East and North Africa, with an area of 2,000 square kilometers.

The Special Economic Zone at Duqm contains several economic, tourism and service development zones, the most prominent are a multi-purpose port, a dry dock for repairing ships, a fishing port, a regional airport, and tourist, industrial and logistical areas.

Within this special economic zone, there is also the China-Oman (Duqm) Industrial Park. The China-Oman (Duqm) Industrial Park, set up in 2011 in the southeastern desert of Al Wusta Governorate, stretches over 2,000 square km with an 80-km coastline, which makes it the biggest in the Middle East and North Africa region. Under a deal signed in May 2016 between China and Oman, Oman Wanfang, a subsidiary of Wanfang China from the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China, is developing the 12.72-square-km industrial park. The planned overall investment for the park amounts to 67 billion yuan (about 9.7 billion U.S. dollars). It is considered as the largest industrial park invested by a single country in Oman and the largest one invested by China in Arab countries to strengthen production capacity cooperation.

the China-Oman (Duqm) Industrial Park

Source:https://www.cas-expo.org.cn/en/newsDet.html?id=1310