Oman has opened up around 33 projects and initiatives on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis, involving investments worth over $2.5 billion, for local and international investment, said a report.

The sultanate’s solid waste management flagship company, be’ah, is promoting an array of projects for local and foreign investment as part of its drive to sustain a circular economy centring on the solid waste sector, reported Oman Observer.

The biggest of these is a waste-to-energy independent power project (IPP) utilising municipal waste for power generation – a venture estimated to cost $700 million.

Together with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), be’ah has plans to support the development of another waste-to-energy project for the production of thermal energy, stated the report.

Additionally, the state-backed entity is looking at a $23.5-million worth biogas plant at the Barka landfill for the production of electricity, thermal energy and compost, it added.

The PPP ventures span across several key sectors such as healthcare, agriculture and fisheries, food security, mining, manufacturing and logistics, stated officials of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MOCIIP) during a recent online seminar targeted at prospective international investors.

Hospitals and related healthcare ventures account for a third of the projects in the portfolio, they added.

The Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ), which regulates all four of the country’s biggest free zone developments, is overseeing a string of mining-related investments, stated the report. The largest of these is a soda ash production plant at a cost of $145.64 million, it added.

Also available for investment are smaller-scale ventures, currently in the conceptual stage, that include a clinker manufacturing facility ($20.72 million), quick lime production plant ($14.3 million), and a ground calcium carbonate factory valued at $7.25 million, according to the report.

At Barka, just north of Muscat, the promoter of Khazaen Economic City, the sultanate’s first integrated manufacturing and logistics hub, has invited international firms to consider a range of investment opportunities, the report said.

Wrapping up the portfolio of ventures for investment is a mixed-use development offered by the Public Authority for Social Insurance (PASI) valued at $113 million, it added.