The Sultanate of Oman’s executive space sector programme, unveiled by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology earlier this month, envisions promising opportunities for investment in this emerging sector.
“The vision of the space sector over the next ten years is to position the Sultanate of Oman as a regional getaway for space applications,” shared Dr Saoud Humaid Salim al Shoaili (pictured), Director General of Policies & Governance Department and Head of National Space at the Ministry.
Speaking during a symposium on the theme, ‘Future Visions and Investment Opportunities’, Dr Al Shoaili said the total value of the global space market reached $337 billion in 2021, with upstream space services — space transportation and exploration — making up only 10 per cent of the market.
“Ninety per cent of the [space industry market] is found in end-to-end activities in applications and terrestrial uses,” he noted, adding: “The Sultanate of Oman will focus on downstream opportunities, where most investment opportunities and most profitable returns lie, whether it be from government investment or through attracting foreign investment.”.
Dr Amjed al Thuhli, a consultant at National Space and AI Center, shared some of these opportunities during his presentation. One of which is the upcoming world space conference next year which will focus on the downstream space industry.
“There are many global space conferences but most of them focus on manufacturing, our goal is to focus on space applications,” said Al Thuli.
The Ministry hopes that the conference will put Oman on the global space map, and attract tourists and investors alike.
Another project is the End User Application Booster programme, simply known as sandboxing. The programme will aim to encourage sectors to use “space based solutions via pilot and demonstration projects”, he said.
Sandboxing is a cybersecurity method of testing applications in a secure isolated environment.
According to Al Thuhli, the ministry will issue temporary and investment licences to companies interested in utilising the service.
Additionally, he shared, “The ministry will coordinate with the various other parties in order to have proper governance and ensure that there is a desired benefit that will return to the Sultanate, whether it is in the recruitment process or to add it in the GDP contribution process." Moreover, the Ministry will allow investors to establish ground stations as part of its ground station hub initiative.
“The programme will allow companies to establish ground stations and provide services to other companies or countries,” stated Al Thuhli.
“It will allow faster access to data for researchers in the Sultanate as well as for academics and other institutions that use satellite data in their daily work, such as companies in the oil and gas sector and other economic sectors” he added.
Other investment opportunities include the establishment of cloud partnerships, cube satellite initiatives, space observatories, and research and development opportunities.
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