Oman’s sparsely inhabited coast of fishing villages and Bedouin camps is being transformed into an industrial city with port, luxury hotels and housing for 111,000

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Oman is desperate to diversify away from its oil and gas dependency. Research by the US Energy Information Administration puts Oman’s known crude oil reserves at 5.6bn barrels. While this is only enough to rank the country 21st in the world, its economy is disproportionately dependent: oil and gas accounts for nearly halfof the country’s GDP, 70% of exports and between 68% and 85% of government revenue.

Potential investors examine a map of future plans for Duqm
Potential investors examine a map of future plans for Duqm © Wade Shepard

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“Several dozen new cities are being constructed in the Middle East, mainly to transition away from the petroleum industry to a variety of other industries, including tourism, manufacturing, education and hi-tech,” says Dr Sarah Moser, a McGill University geography professor and author of an upcoming atlas of new cities. 

“Many oil-producing states in the Middle East are eager to globalise their economies and attract international investors, particularly in anticipation of a post-oil world. New cities are a way to jumpstart this economic transition, and are also seen as a way to start fresh and avoid the entrenched corruption, bureaucracy and political entanglements of existing cities.”

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