The first week of the National Local Content Laboratory, in which more than 43 government and private entities participated, discussed the importance of localizing industries and services in the energy, minerals, construction, electricity, water, health, military and security sectors, in order to enhance the national economy and achieve self-sufficiency. The two-week laboratory also discussed the facts of the targeted sectors, completed the description of previously identified initiatives and projects, found new ideas and determined their budgets, and began implementing detailed plans. The laboratory’s activities also included various workshops, including a workshop entitled “A Proposed Framework for Local Content in the Sultanate of Oman,” in cooperation with a global consulting firm. The workshop discussed practical methods for developing local content, implementation strategies, and the necessity of governance and retroactive impact in the local content system. A session was held to discuss the Imdad project, during which the program through which Petroleum Development Oman works to raise the skills of Omani youth and achieve direct employment and training linked to employment and on-the-job training was introduced, which achieves sustainability and progression in the career ladder. The session aimed to introduce the program to the participants in the National Local Content Laboratory. A working session was held on localizing some manufacturing operations in the energy and minerals sector, especially with regard to pipes for the oil industry. The session also presented a case study that illustrates the difference in prices when localizing these industries compared to importing them from abroad. On the final day, the National Laboratory for Local Content Supervisory Committee held a meeting to review everything that was presented during the week, and to evaluate the feasibility of implementing the opportunities presented, according to priority and the difficulty of facing the challenges.

The National Laboratory will present the available development opportunities in local content, which number 39 opportunities, distributed as follows: 12 opportunities in the military and security sector, 11 opportunities in the health sector, 8 opportunities in the energy and minerals sector, 4 opportunities in the construction and building sector, and 4 opportunities in the electricity and water services sector.

Integration in the Economic System

His Excellency Dr. Mundhir bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Deputy Head of the Follow-up Unit for the Implementation of Oman Vision 2040, explained that the laboratory is important at this stage as it contributes to achieving integration in the economic system, and that the outputs of the laboratory will enhance the roles of some sectors in the national economy, and will consolidate integration between the targeted sectors, in order to achieve "Oman Vision 2040". For his part, His Excellency Eng. Mohsen bin Hamad Al Hadhrami, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, stressed that the National Laboratory for Local Content is very important to achieve cooperation between the various sectors that affect the economy of the Sultanate of Oman, and that exchanging experiences and lessons between the participating sectors contributes to enhancing local content and raising local added value.

The participants in the laboratory also praised this experience that allowed them to work together to present and exchange ideas with the development of local content, as Nada bint Salem Al Omiri, Supervisor of the Construction and Building Sector, explained that the construction sector participates in the laboratory with a group of opportunities and initiatives, some of which are enabling initiatives aimed at organizing, reviving and governing the construction sector in the Sultanate of Oman, and others are investment opportunities that seek to localize the products used in the sector.

Mohanna bin Musa Baqer, Director General of Ports at the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, pointed out that the National Laboratory for Local Content provides investment opportunities in manufacturing products that cover the needs of the transport sector, such as road and port maintenance materials.

For his part, Abdullah bin Hamoud Al Siyabi from the Diwan of Royal Court confirmed that the National Laboratory contributes to achieving the vision of local content in the Sultanate of Oman through several methods, including developing national competencies, encouraging local industries, localizing services and goods, contributing to diversifying the economy, and creating job opportunities for citizens.

The National Laboratory for Local Content will complete next week the implementation of detailed plans and the completion of executive plans for projects after agreement with the relevant authorities. During the week, the final approval will be given to opportunities that aim to enhance local content to advance the national economy.

Investing Shared Resources

It is worth noting that the National Laboratory for Local Content came to achieve a number of objectives set to enhance the national economy, including integration between government and private sectors in enhancing local content, to enhance investment in shared resources, in a way that achieves long-term strategic goals, while building effective partnerships with government agencies and the private sector to raise the level of local content, and encouraging cooperation between academic institutions, research and industrial centers to support innovation and development, and working to involve stakeholders in open discussions to accommodate their visions and needs, and determining a sustainable communication mechanism with all relevant parties, while determining the mechanism for measuring the impact, such as setting key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the progress achieved, and periodically reviewing the work plan to ensure achieving the desired results, and achieving a comprehensive roadmap to enhance local content based on sector priorities, in a way that achieves the possibility of implementation and adaptation to variables, while identifying opportunities, challenges, and solutions by providing studies and analyses of the current situation to explore opportunities to enhance local content in the targeted sectors, and identifying the most prominent challenges facing these sectors and proposing realistic and effective solutions.