Oman’s National Programme for Enhancing Economic Diversification (Tanfeedh) is advocating the use of coal-fired captive power capacity to support the development of new cement plants in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Duqm, said a report.

The use of coal as a potential fuel resource in power generation is being actively studied by various government and public sector stakeholders as part of a wider effort to move the sector away from a predominant reliance on natural gas, added the Oman Daily Observer report.

The exercise also aims to achieve a more diversified energy base to support the sultanate’s long-term economic development, it said.

Tanfeedh’s initiative for expanding domestic cement production seeks to offset the nation’s dependence on cements for a hefty 54 per cent of its requirements. It proposes the establishment of at least three new cement plants in the Duqm SEZ.

The initiative calls for setting up two cement plants at the SEZ each of a capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum, added the report.

Cement consumption, according to the National Programme, has soared from 2.7 million tonnes in 2006 to 9 million tonnes in 2015.

While local producers Oman Cement and Raysut Cement accounts for 44 per cent of domestic demand, the rest comes from the UAE, it said.