Beijing, China - Logistics facilities are to be developed at Muscat Airport Free Zone, Sohar Free Zone and Khazaen Economic City by Oman's state logistics group Asyad Group and China's JD.com, one of a package of agreements Oman Investment Authority (OIA) has signed with Chinese partners.
The new facilities will link Oman with markets in the GCC and East Africa, according to the sovereign wealth fund, which called the package its largest-ever set of investment agreements signed in a single day.
His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik was on a state visit to China when the deals, worth billions of dollars in total, were signed. It is the first visit to the country by an Omani Sultan, OIA said.
In Duqm, O-Green has formed a strategic partnership with Shanghai Electric Wind Power Group to build up Oman's industrial and engineering capabilities in wind energy. The plan includes an R&D centre and a site for testing turbines at Duqm, and the partnership also extends to green ammonia.
Omantel, which OIA describes as Oman's leading integrated telecoms provider, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to roll out high-performance computing infrastructure and Ascend neural processing units for advanced digital applications. A separate MoU covers Oman's government digital-transformation programme.
Nama Holding is to cooperate with State Grid International Development on battery energy storage worth approximately $1 billion, totalling 1 gigawatt of capacity. OIA listed the scheme among the major infrastructure and industrial projects in the package.
On the investment side, OIA agreed an $800 million joint fund with China's Silk Road Fund, most of which is to be deployed in Oman. A second fund, worth $300 million, was agreed with China Merchants Bank.
Another $735 million comes through partnerships with Templewater, IDG Capital and EW Partners, aimed at utilities, smart manufacturing, digital technology and clean energy.
According to OIA, the agreements cover mining, logistics, renewable energy, space, digital technology and financial services. It said they move Oman–China economic ties away from traditional trade and towards industrial localisation, joint investment, technology transfer and capital partnerships over the long term.
OIA President Abdulsalam Al Murshidi said the deals show how relations between the two countries have evolved from trade to investment partnerships that support job creation, economic diversification, knowledge transfer and future industries.
He said most of the projects are planned for Oman, where they will bring in capital, technology, manufacturing and specialised capabilities while giving Omani businesses access to production, distribution and investment networks in China and internationally.
The authority added that it continues to strengthen the private sector's role in developing Oman's economy. Through Future Fund Oman (FFO) and similar initiatives, it is backing commercially viable projects in priority sectors and opening up partnership opportunities for local and international investors.
Mining and solar manufacturing are also covered. Minerals Development Oman has handed Hongda International a 10-year contract worth $418.7 million for the Mazoon Copper and Gold Project, and a separate $100 million solar partnership will pair renewable-energy development with the manufacture of solar inverters in Oman.
The package also reaches into space. A space programme will train 1,000 specialists from Oman, sponsor postgraduate study in China for 30 Omanis and set up a joint space AI laboratory.
A separate Space Silk Road agreement covers, in its first phase, the development, launch and operation of seven satellites, together with plans to build up satellite assembly, integration and testing capabilities in Oman.
