By Amal Rajab — MUSCAT: APRIL 22 - Non-oil sectors were the key drivers of the economy last year, the economic growth was led by the sectors of contracting and construction, electricity and water, financial brokerage, agriculture and fisheries and mining. Other sectors such as transport, storage, wholesale and manufacturing have contracted, according to data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). The gross domestic product (GDP) registered RO 25.5 billion down 5.1 per cent compared to the previous year. The GDP growth was affected by continued fall of oil activities which saw a 23.7 per cent decrease contributing RO 7 billion to the GDP. On the other side, non-oil activities grew by 0.6 per cent contributing RO 19.3 billion to the GDP.
The agricultural sector recorded the highest growth rate in 2016 with 16.3 per cent and a contribution of RO 506 million compared to RO 435 million a year earlier. The construction sector grew by 10.5 per cent contributing RO 2.3 billion to the GDP. The electricity and water sector grew by 5.4 per cent contributing RO 548 million to the GDP. The growth rate in the petrochemical sector fell by a whopping 26 per cent to register RO 864 million, manufacturing sector shrank 17 per cent recording RO 2.2 billion.
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