Oman Royal Decree 39/2026 — Statute of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) and the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates

Mechanism

Royal Decree 39/2026 is the institutional-governance layer that operationalises the substantive Special Economic Zones and Free Zones Law enacted by Royal Decree 38/2025. Where RD 38/2025 established the legal framework — 100% foreign ownership, 10-year tax exemptions, customs-duty relief, statutory one-stop-shop — RD 39/2026 restructures the authority that administers those provisions.

OPAZ expanded powers. The new Statute broadens OPAZ's supervisory and oversight functions across all OPAZ-administered zones. Operative scope includes: project registration; issuance of licences, permits, approvals, and certificates required for economic activities within zones; regulation of municipal services within zone boundaries; and implementation of Omanisation and labour-licence alignment objectives across the OPAZ network.

Single-window platform consolidation. The Statute mandates a comprehensive single-window platform for the full suite of zone-related investor services — the key competitive instrument relative to KSA SEZ Authority (ECZA), UAE DMCC/JAFZA/DAFZA, and the Bahrain EDB zone-attraction model. Reducing investor-entry friction is a direct response to GCC-zone competition for greenfield FDI.

Public Establishment for Industrial Estates absorbed. The six existing Omani industrial estates (Rusayl, Sohar, Salalah, Nizwa, Buraimi, Sumail, Mazyounah) are brought under unified OPAZ governance, ending the prior bifurcated authority between the zone network and the industrial-estate network.

23-zone architecture. The Statute governs the full existing OPAZ zone portfolio plus planned future zones: Duqm SEZ, Salalah FZ, Sohar FZ, Al Mazunah FZ, Knowledge Oasis Muscat, plus announced pipeline (SEZ in Al Dhahirah Governorate, SEZ in Al Rawdah, free zone at Muscat International Airport, and four new industrial cities — Al Mudhaibi, Al Suwaiq, Thamrait, and Madha).

Investment scale. As of end-2025, OPAZ-administered zones host RO 22.4 bn (~USD 58 bn) in cumulative committed investment, with RO 1.4 bn (~USD 3.6 bn) in new investments in 2025 alone (6.8% growth vs 2024).

Downstream implications

• GCC SEZ competitive landscape. The single-window mandate and expanded OPAZ regulatory remit directly sharpen Oman's competitive positioning vs KSA's ECZA (filed), UAE DMCC/JAFZA/DAFZA multi-authority model, and Bahrain EDB. Investor-comparative pricing of Omani zones vs GCC peers will shift as the platform matures.
• Existing project exposure. The GFCL Salalah LFP-battery-materials plant (filed 2025-09-14-oman-opaz-salalah-free-zone-lfp-battery-materials-plant), Hydrom Green Hydrogen Round 3 Duqm Land Block (filed 2025-04-30), and Sohar FZ metals + petrochemicals investments all operate under the OPAZ regulatory umbrella now restated by RD 39/2026.
• GCC Vision-2040 institutional layer. RD 39/2026 completes the regulatory architecture for Oman's Vision 2040 diversification strategy: RD 38/2025 provides the substantive legal framework; RD 39/2026 provides the institutional-authority statute; earlier pipeline actions (green hydrogen strategy, SEZ-specific investments) provide the project layer.
• Omanisation implementation. Labour-licence and Omanisation-target alignment within zone boundaries is a statutory objective under the new Statute — a factor for labour-cost modelling by manufacturing investors evaluating Oman vs other GCC + South-East Asian sites.

Open questions

• Whether the single-window platform will be fully operational before the planned new zones (Al Dhahirah SEZ, Muscat Airport FZ) open for investment — execution risk given OPAZ's historic project-approval timelines.
• Timeline for OPAZ to issue implementing regulations and decisions under Article 3 of RD 39/2026 (Chairman empowered but no deadline set).
• Whether the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates absorption changes the regulatory treatment of the six legacy industrial estates for existing tenants (grandfathering vs new-regime application).