By Conrad Prabhu — MUSCAT: April 15 - The Sultanate is drawing up plans to energize the growth of its fledging e-commerce industry which, if suitably developed, has the potential to contribute tens of billions of dollars annually to the national GDP. The move, according to a key official, is one of 15 initiatives outlined by Tanfeedh — The National Programme for Enhancing Economic Diversification — to help support the growth of a logistics-enabled economy in the Sultanate. Sulaiman al Shaqsi, who heads the Logistics portfolio at Tanfeedh, said the Sultanate currently lags behind some of its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) counterparts where e-commerce has evolved into a $40 billion-plus industry. In contrast, the e-commerce business in Oman is in the order of $800 million-$1 billion annually.
“We are working to put an e-commerce system in place,” Al Shaqsi, who is also Head of Logistics at Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), stated.
Speaking at an energy forum held in the city last week, he said Tanfeedh has assembled a package of initiatives and proposals designed to leverage Oman’s strategic geographical location, as well as its superior transport infrastructure, to spur the growth of logistics activities and businesses in the Sultanate.
According to the logistics expert, dedicated teams have been created within Tanfeedh to support, among other objectives, trade facilitation, enhance maritime trade, spur the growth of air cargo, strengthen road connectivity, and build a new national rail network. “Our goal is make the business of trade cheaper and competitive to the world,” said Al Shaqsi.
Of the 15 logistics-related initiatives being pursued by Tanfeedh, several espouse the importance of improved and seamless road connectivity, primarily linking the nation’s maritime gateways with the hinterland as well as markets around the Arabian Gulf.
Notable is a plan for a new bypass at Ibri designed to facilitate cargo flows between Sohar Port and Saudi Arabia when the new Oman-Saudi road is formally opened this year. At present, the Suhar-Ibri carriageway is congested in places, thereby necessitating a bypass at Ibri to circumvent these constraints, he said.
Also envisioned are proposals for expanding the capacity of some maritime gateways to handle the world’s largest container ships in conjunction with measures to help woo such mega carriers to the Sultanate.
Together with Royal Oman Police Customs and other government stakeholders, Tanfeedh has also outlined steps to facilitate the speedy movement of goods in and out of ports via the Bayan System — a move that has already begun to deliver positive results, he said.
Additionally, Tanfeedh has plans to support the development of cold chain logistics which will have beneficial implications for enhanced exports of fisheries and agro produce, as well as minimize wastage of perishables in the Sultanate, Al Shaqsi said.
On the aviation side, Tanfeedh is working to harness opportunities linked to the development of air cargo logistics, complete with an ‘Air Cargo Village’, in the Sultanate, he added.
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