Muscat – With an aim of raising the contribution of the digital economy to reach ten per cent of the GDP by 2040, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) will launch the national portal for electronic services by the end of this year.

In an interview with Oman TV, H E Said bin Hamoud al Ma’awali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, said that the ministry “is working to launch the national portal for electronic services by the end of this year to provide a one-stop-shop for services, and new services will be added to it constantly”.

He informed that the ministry has created a unified index for all government services, which reached 3,000 services in 2022. “The ministry will aim to digitalise 80 per cent of government services by 2025. It has a plan to raise and double the contribution of the digital economy to reach ten per cent of the GDP by 2040.”

“The logistics sector expanded after the pandemic by 28.4 per cent in 2022 compared to 2021. The sector’s contribution to the GDP reached seven per cent.”

About the dream project of Muscat Metro, the minister said that a study was conducted on its economic impact by a team established for the purpose of avoiding any situation that may cause problems in the long run.

Talking about the road projects, H E Ma’awali said, “The Rusayl-Bidbid road is expected to be fully opened in the first quarter of 2024, while work on the first phase of Adam-Haima-Thamrait road was stalled.

“As a result, the contract has been withdrawn from the executing company. A fresh tender will be issued to complete the project,” he added.

For the delay in completing the Sharqiya Expressway, the minister cited the failure of the executing company as the reason and affirmed that “the ministry will re-offer a tender to complete the project”.

H E Ma’awali informed that the ministry is currently working on preparing and improving the Batinah Highway with the executing company, starting from the wilayat of Barka to the wilayat of Shinas.

While the Dibba-Lima-Khasab road will be assigned to a contractor in April for its implementation.
In the space science sector, the launch of Omani satellite has been postponed to 2025, the minister informed adding that the government has found funding sources for the project.