Muscat – An integrated agricultural project is being offered to private investors in Quriyat in what Invest Oman is positioning as one of the most strategically significant agri-tech opportunities under Vision 2040’s food security agenda.

The proposed Smart Agricultural Cluster in Al Salil, Quriyat, will spread across 2.09mn sqm and require a capital investment of RO17mn. It aims to consolidate five farms within a single integrated location, combining traditional farming methods with advanced agricultural technologies to produce staple and high-value crops throughout the year to significantly reduce Oman’s dependence on imported food.

Oman currently achieves self-sufficiency levels of 79% for vegetables and 24% for fruits, leaving it heavily reliant on imports. The agriculture sector contributed RO611.3mn to the GDP in 2025.

The government has earmarked 200 agriculture projects under its 11th Five-Year Plan, underscoring the scale of official ambition in this space.

The Quriyat site benefits from proximity to the Muscat consumer market, access to Wadi Dayqah Dam and local groundwater resources, and a climate suitable for diversified crop cultivation. If developed as proposed, the cluster is projected to generate more than 160 jobs and produce approximately 62mn kg of annual crop output by 2038.

Development is structured in three phases running from 2027 to 2030. The foundation phase in 2027 will focus on infrastructure construction, establishing shade-net and open-field farms and beginning orchard planting, with a visitor centre also breaking ground in the first year. By 2028, the farm will move into stabilisation, with harvests commencing across shade-net and open-field operations and the visitor centre opening alongside secondary revenue streams including a café, workshops and a souvenir shop.

Phase 2 in 2029 will introduce smart greenhouse construction and orchard growing, while Phase 3 in 2030 will bring vertical farming online – one of the most water-efficient and yield-intensive methods available, producing lettuce, basil and microgreens year-round with minimal land use.

The crop mix across production layers will be broad. Shade-net farming will cover tomatoes, pepper, eggplant, zucchini and grapes. Open-field plots will grow onion, potatoes, watermelon and sweet melon. Smart greenhouses will focus on cherry tomatoes, cucumber, pepper and strawberry, with a significant export component built into the model from the outset.

With Oman’s food import bill a persistent pressure on the national budget, Invest Oman describes the Al Salil cluster as a project that will simultaneously serve national food security, create rural employment and open a commercially viable path for private agricultural investment close to the country’s largest market.