Saturday 14 / June / 2025
Muscat: Follow-up work on the outputs of the National Programme for Enhancing Economic Diversification (Tanfeedh) is being done by Implementation Support and Follow-up Unit. It includes 77 initiatives and projects, besides a series of 14 initiatives and projects under the business environment team for public, private partnership (PPP).
This comes in order to strengthen the business environment in the Sultanate, facilitate investment and make the Sultanate a safe haven through its political stability, economic attractiveness and its openness to the oceans and seas of the world due to its strategic location, which allows for economic progress in all other areas, in addition to enhancing the competitiveness of the Sultanate in the global development indicators and contribution to the establishment of real partnership between the public and private sectors to ensure the follow-up and implementation of development plans and projects. This comes when the Unit collects and analyses data, follows-up and evaluates key performance indicators, in coordination with the concerned authorities, finds solutions to the challenges that may arise during implementation and adopts a clear follow-up mechanism.
The Unit works with a clear vision to create an effective government performance environment to increase the competitive advantage of the Sultanate by providing support and facilities to government and private entities and their level of performance to contribute to raising the economic and social development revenues in order to attract investments and increase per capita income, push towards implementing the Sultanate’s plans and seek the achievement of economic diversification.
Hussam bin Ahmed Al Nabhani, Supervisor of Tanfeedh Team at the Implementation Support and Follow up Unit said that the Unit is working to overcome the challenges facing sectors that promote economic diversification in the Sultanate by enhancing the contribution of non-oil sectors and solving the challenges facing investors wishing to enter the Sultanate’s markets.
He added that the idea of the laboratories supported and followed by the Unit came in line with the economic growth in the country and an attempt by the Government to set the challenges facing the sectors as priorities. He added that the laboratories came to set the real beginning to promote economic diversification in the Sultanate according to the main performance indicators and their control panel to follow up the progress of the Omani Economy and its promising projects.
He pointed out that the most significant change introduced by the Unit since its establishment is the “performance measurement principle” that was introduced in the government sector for the first time at this level in a manner close to the scientific form according to figures and statistics.
On the challenges facing the work of the Unit, Al Nabhani explained that there are major challenges and the Unit deals with them with transparency, which resulted in success in changing the prevailing thinking on the promotion of economic diversification.
The Supervisor of Tanfeedh Team at the Unit further said that the methodology of the Unit’s work with the rest of the relevant bodies from government institutions and private sector companies is based on gathering the parties at one table, solving the challenges and finding ways to make them succeed, which makes it much easier for these parties. He added that the best example in this regard is the standardisation of custom inspection efforts, which will undoubtedly give the Sultanate a great place in the import and export.
Azzan bin Qasim Al Busaidi, Head of the Business Environment Team and Finance in the Unit, said that the responsibilities of the Implementation Support and Follow-up Unit are to provide all kinds of support to the concerned parties through a clear work methodology and to identify projects, opportunities and laws that would increase the competitiveness of the Omani economy.
He pointed out that since the establishment of the Unit, the team has worked with a number of positive responders, including but not limited to the “Invest Easy” project and the “Investment Services Centre” in partnership initiatives and the “Foreign Investment Law” of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
He added that the percentage of initiatives coming from the National Program for Enhancing Economic Diversification (Tanfeedh) is about 30 per cent of the total initiatives that the team is working on while the rest of the projects and initiatives are represented in Sharaka Team Initiatives affiliated to the Diwan of Royal Court.
Ghalib bin Said Al Ma’amari, In-charge of the Manufacturing Initiatives Team in the Unit, said that the Unit’s support for implementation is through introducing monitoring mechanisms and performance indicators through which the Unit will follow the process of providing support and follow up implementation.
He added that the Sultanate introduced for the first time through the laboratories mechanisms to priorities of the sectors in a scientific manner, therefore no project is listed unless it is thoroughly studied, in addition to measuring its impact on the strategic goals of each sector to facilitate the work on the implementation of initiatives and projects later.
He pointed out that the system of sector and initiatives governance is carried out through the taskforces, and supervisory and steering committees, as well as the involvement of entrepreneurs. He added that measurement indicators have been developed where executive plans are put for each initiative, including all the details related to the cost and the implementation period and the rest of the other details, in addition to submitting weekly reports for all indicators through the control panel and performance measurement indicators.
He explained that the manufacturing initiatives pursued and supported by the Unit are making tangible progress by moving forward in a number of projects and initiatives, such as Mazoon Dairy Initiative, which has recently laid the groundwork for business start-ups and construction work of the project, as well as the usufruct initiative to establish a cement factory in Al Wusta.
Eng. Hamoud bin Hamad al Rushaidi, Supervisor of New Laboratory Team explained that the Implementation Support and Follow-up Unit is continuing to organise laboratories for all 19 sectors of economic diversification approved in the 9th five-year plan, as well as to assess the need to include other sectors in the upcoming stages.
Abdul Aziz bin Mohammed Al Rashdi, Head of Communication and Marketing Team in the Unit said that the media and marketing aspect is a fundamental element of the Unit’s responsibilities due to its awareness of the work methodology and the structure of the support and follow-up system developed by the Unit through performance indicators and project governance.
He added that the media policy keeps pace and harmony with the general policy of the Unit
He pointed out that the unit is currently working in coordination with a number of government and private entities associated with the promotion of economic diversification to carry out an orientation tour, introduce the roles and functions of the Unit, assess work progress therein in order to expand the orientation later on a social scale through participation in meetings and conferences at the local level in the Sultanate.
