MUSCAT, DEC 6
Oman’s decarbonisation strategy envisions the roll-out of nationwide Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure that will make EV ownership and operation an attractive proposition in the country.
According to Eng Salim bin Nasser al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals, zero-carbon mobility is a key part of the nation’s integrated strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 as mandated by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik recently.
Speaking on the second day of the Green Hydrogen Summit Oman 2022 Conference & Exhibition, Al Aufi stated that recent deliberations with various stakeholder agencies working collaboratively to deliver on Oman’s Net Zero commitment have produced a number of “aggressive incentives” to help put zero-emission mobility on the right path.
They include a plan to incentivize the installation of EV charging stations across the country with a view to boosting the uptake of EV use in Oman.
“So in terms of the number of charging stations that we will be installing throughout the country, our ambition is that you should be able to drive from Muscat to Salalah and back without having to worry about whether you will find a recharge station to fuel your car. So you should be extremely comfortable driving your electric vehicle with the assurance that you can still drive your car back and it's not going to stop halfway through,” Al Aufi said.
To this end, charging stations are proposed to be set up in every governorate in the country to support the widespread adoption of electric vehicles in Oman, he said.
Al Aufi however noted the need for electric vehicles to be reasonably affordably to the majority of motorists to help drive a large-scale switch to low-carbon transportation.
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