Construction
From The Report: Oman 2018
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Despite public investment cuts and a broad economic slowdown in the wake of lower oil prices, Oman’s construction sector continues to grow at a relatively brisk pace, bolstered by state-led diversification efforts, high income levels and relatively low labour costs. The building industry grew by a robust 10.4% in 2016, up markedly on the two previous years, according to the latest official full- year data, with sector investment staying buoyant at 5.5% growth. As the largest chunk of the non-oil economy, at roughly 45%, construction remains a pillar of government efforts to steer the country’s productive industries away from hydrocarbons under its medium-term ninth five-year plan, which covers the 2016-20 period, and its longer-term blueprint, Vision 2040.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Holding steady: The sector weathers external forces to continue posting solid growth
OBG
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Faced with public investment cutbacks and a broad economic slowdown in the wake of lower oil prices, Oman’s construction sector continues to grow at a brisk pace, bolstered by state-led diversification efforts, high income levels and relatively low labour costs. The building industry grew by a robust 10.4% in 2016, up markedly on the two previous years, latest official full-year data show as of January 2018, with sector investment staying buoyant at 5.5% growth. In 2017, however, the sector…

Analysis

The PPP model: The government looks to public-private partnerships to speed diversification
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Many large construction projects in Oman are developed under public-private partnerships (PPPs), whereby a state-linked institution joins forces with a private company or multinational to carry out a project in the common interest. In light of low oil prices and straitened budgets, the government is looking to expand use of this structure to carry out its investment and diversification agenda under the country’s ninth five-year plan, which covers 2016-20, and its Vision 2040 development…

Analysis

Bricks and mortar: Sales of core building materials rise while prices hold steady
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Domestic output of both steel and cement has recorded a substantial rise amid recent price pressures, suggesting the supply of building materials will continue reliably at cost-effective levels as the country looks to clear a large infrastructure project pipeline on a tighter budget. With regional demand set to continue growing – by as much as 6% per year in 2015-19 for cement, according to an analysis by UK-based Industry Today – driven by a construction surge across the GCC, manufacturers…