i8 | interview with the minister Oman’s Minister of Transport & Communications Ahmed Al-Futaisi on the transport sector By Dar Oman and the Technical Coordination Department, Dar Al-Handasah As a follow up to Issue 7 article “On the road: Developing a dual-carriageway highway in Oman,” we flew to Muscat to meet with His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Salem Al-Futaisi, Oman’s Minister of Transport & Communications. The Minister shares his thoughts on Oman’s transport sector, its challenges and peculiarities, and the growing importance of public transport. Your Excellency, there are many developments in Oman’s transport sector under your tenure. What is the current state of the sector and your vision for it? Oman’s economy is still reliant on oil and gas, and alternatives are needed. To that end, the transport and logistical sector is very promising, and our government is now concentrating on it. Our big goal is to become one of the top 10 countries worldwide in logistics by 2040. The biggest change we’re planning for the sector is to evolve it from a mere service field for other sectors to an economically viable sector in its own right. To achieve that vision, we have to build bigger, more advanced infrastructure. Firstly, Oman is developing five airports, two international and three regional, to the highest standard. These airports will connect the country internally and externally. Also, we’re setting up six central commercial ports. These will connect Oman to the world and make it a gateway for neighboring economies of the Gulf, countries bordering the Indian Ocean, Africa, and others. Thirdly, our road network is being upgraded. While Oman has traditionally occupied top positions in global rankings, we’ve nevertheless been modernizing the highways which link the muhafazat (regions). This step has been economically significant, linking the ports, free zones and other areas. Finally, we’re participating in the Gulf train project, a project that will link all the Gulf countries from Kuwait to Oman. The railway will be linked to our ports and will transform the Sultanate into a gateway to the Gulf. 16