Muscat – H E Dr Khalfan bin Said al Shuaili, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, has issued Ministerial Decision No 90/2023 which grants small and medium enterprises (SMEs) right to use state-owned land.

The decision states that SMEs will be granted usufruct right to land owned by the state in accordance to provisions and controls of the Law Governing Usufruct Right of Land in Oman and its executive regulations.

According to the decision, the ministry will allocate SMEs no less than ten per cent of the land in commercial, industrial, agricultural and tourism projects ready for distribution under the usufruct system.

The ministry has set some conditions for owners of SMEs to benefit from the decision such as the enterprise must be wholly owned by an Omani citizen and the headquarters of the institution must be in Oman.

The decision also mandates that the owner of the enterprise must manage it on a full-time basis and is registered with the Ministry of Labour as an employer.

The enterprise should also be registered with the Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (ASMED) and have a Riyada card.

‘The SME will have usufruct right to one plot of land only. Priority to enterprises will be based on the nature and importance of the project and its economic feasibility, besides Omanisation rate,’ ASMED stated.

The decision was welcomed by experts and owners of SMEs. Speaking to Muscat Daily Khalfan al Touqi, an economic analyst, said, “The sultanate now relies on SMEs to increase national income. The decision is important because it will help SMEs get stability, develop their projects and increase the national income.”

He added that the contribution of SMEs to the GDP was about RO7bn or 24 per cent three years ago. “According to the latest statistics, the contribution now ranges between 25 and 26 per cent, equivalent to RO8bn.”

Hamad al Rahbi, owner of an SME, said, “The SME sector has stood out in the last few years as the key driver behind economic development in the sultanate. So the decision will create an environment of stability and be a strong motivation for owners of small businesses to expand and create more job opportunities.”

Another SME owner Nasser Selim said the decision will be an incentive for owners to adopt new strategies to develop their businesses, attract foreign investment and be creative in developing new projects that will contribute to the economic development of the country.

“The decision will also help SMEs that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Rahbi added.

The total number of SMEs registered in the country till September 2022 was 210,877, while the number of SMEs registered with ASMED till December 2022 was 104,141.