The manufacturing sector in Oman is poised for major growth, thanks to the Gulf region’s population boom and the demand for energy and environmental concerns, said an expert.

“Manufacturing is the protein that feeds the Omani economy,” remarked Ibtisam Al Faruji, marketing director at the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE) and organizer of Oman’s annual 'Smart Manufacturing Conference' which runs from November 2 to 3 at Grand Hyatt Hotel, Muscat.

'We’ve over 600 manufacturers based on PEIE estates and this number is expanding each year. In fact we have seen substantial growth in Sohar, Rusayl and Al Buraimi. Our tenants are working in diverse areas - operating in food production, construction, pharma, automotive spare parts, glass, textiles, through to aluminium,' he explained.

'Indeed, a large proportion of our tenants are export-driven making them important base industries. It’s this type of industry that attract outside money. Moreover, it’s estimated that every manufacturing job brings in about 2.5 other jobs, such as retail, insurance, IT, real estate and other services,' he pointed out.

Manufacturing industry is easy to overlook, Al Faruji remarked. “Perhaps we’re better known for our beaches and world-class resorts than we are for our industrial estates,” he quipped.

'Yet manufacturing brings two important things that most other sectors do not: high-paying jobs and major inward investment,' he added.

He pointed out that the manufacturing sector right across the world had suffered since the global recession began in December 2007.

'The US has lost about 11 per cent of its manufacturing jobs, while the Japanese have lost 16 per cent. Even developing nations lost factory jobs: Brazil has suffered a 20 per cent decline and China has experienced a 15 per cent drop.'

However Al Faruji is optimistic about Omani manufacturing sector and sees major growth in jobs.

Nasser Al Rahbi, PEIE’s media manager pointed out that the future for the country lay in solar and renewable-energy manufacturing.

'Oman should have an edge because of its abundant sunshine, proximity to the growing Gulf and Indian markets and the high number of engineers graduating from Oman’s universities,' he observed.

“The key”, Al Rahbi argued, “is to establish synergy, or enough companies making and researching renewables that encourage more companies to join them – creating a critical mass is really important.”

“It's a question about who gets in early, about who builds a concentration. And the big difference in solar and renewables is that not every country can produce a demand like we can. Given the Gulf region’s population growth, the demand for energy and environmental concerns, we’ve a marvelous manufacturing opportunity to exploit renewables and green technology and create jobs for the future,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service