The Role of Infrastructure in the Economic Diversification of Oman Vision 2040

Abstract

Oman has been focusing on non-oil sectors in diversifying its economic agenda for its 2040 vision, and apart from human capital, the role of infrastructure as one of the non-economic determinants has been identified to be crucial in attracting foreign investment to enhance the economic goals of the nation.  In this paper, the effect of infrastructure and the Tanfeedh Programme on economic growth are examined using data that is collected through a survey questionnaire during the period between July 2020 and January 2021. This was activated by the development of a research model that represents the interrelationships between the strategic factors. This study adopts a quantitative research design with a deductive approach to explore the purpose of this study. Survey questionnaires were conducted among 200 respondents who are involved directly and have relevant knowledge and experience with the economic diversification agenda and the Tanfeedh Programme. The respondents comprise two segments consisting of government staff under the Tanfeedh programme as the first group while the second group consists of private companies’ employees who have been dealing with the government’s diversification agenda. The data are analysed in two phases involving the use of IBM SPSS Statistics version 24, and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The preliminary analysis and PLS-SEM analysis from the study indicate that the enablers of infrastructure along with the other two factors referred to as industrial development and the Tanfeedh programme are the right strategic factors for the economic progress of Oman.