Thursday 13 / March / 2025
Muscat:Innovation Park Muscat (IPM), the future breeding ground for research and development in the country has signed a deal with Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) LLC to help incubate it.
The meeting was headed by Chairman of the Research Council His Highness Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al Said, Advisor to His Majesty the Sultan.
The signing took place at the 3rd Annual Research Forum organised by The Research Council (TRC) and was attended by officials from EOR LLC, IPM and TRC. The signing would be the first of many as Innovation Park Muscat plans to become a hub for Research and Development (R&D) in Oman.
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Speaking at the press conference, Abdul Baqi Ali Al Khabouri, director of the Science Park Department, briefed everyone present about the potential of Oman and the strategy to develop the park.
“This is our first agreement with a company and we are already in touch with many others, with the next signing coming up by the year-end.
“The Innovation Park will be constructed in three phases and the first phase, which will be completed by next year, will have an incubation centre, fabrication workshop and social and R&D centres.”
Al Khabouri also mentioned that due to Oman’s strategic location, political stability and national talent, foreign companies would be very interested in developing R&D centres’ in Oman. TRC is planning to make the park a free zone to create a more attractive area for foreign investors, he noted.
Meanwhile, IPM intends to focus on four key sectors that are significant for the development of the Omani economy: an energy-special focus on EOR and renewable sources, food and biotechnology, water and environment, and health. It will also provide incubation space for Omani SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and start-ups, give freehold land for lease to international MNCs and hold a comprehensive R&D workshop as part of its facilities.
Winners for the first Falling Walls Lab competition in Oman were also awarded at the event. Out of the 128 entries received, only 17 qualified for the finals.
Hafsa Al Ansari, a final year software engineering student, bagged the first place for “Breaking the Wall with High Sky Services,” a groundbreaking way of communication between passengers and cabin crew.
“She will also be going to Berlin to attend the Falling Walls Lab conference.
“The second place was secured by Dr Jayachandran Prabhakaran for his “Breaking the Wall of Fatality Due to Wound Infection” project, while Warda Al Saidi took the third place with for a proposal called, “Breaking the Wall of Wise Wallet.”
Al Ansari expressed her happiness and said she was delighted to have won the top prize.
