Muscat: According to His Excellency the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, the investment allocation includes around RO 900 million for development expenditures across civil ministries and a further RO 400 million dedicated to economic transformation projects aimed at stimulating growth and diversification.
In addition, total contributions and other expenditures in the 2026 budget are estimated at about RO 1.906 billion. This includes RO 614 million allocated to the social protection system, RO 509 million to support the electricity sector, and RO 170 million for the water and sanitation sector.
The budget also prioritises social and basic sectors, with approximately RO 5.2 billion allocated for spending in these areas. Education accounts for the largest share at 40 per cent, followed by social security and welfare at 26 per cent, the health sector at 25 per cent, and the housing sector at 9 per cent.
Within the education sector, the government plans to complete the construction of 42 new government schools and hand over 22 schools in 2026. The target number of new students benefiting from domestic and international scholarship programmes has been set at 11,425. Teaching staff in government schools will also be strengthened with the addition of 4,000 teachers during the year.
The health sector will see further expansion, with 3,706 qualified personnel to be appointed across health institutions. Construction of six government hospitals and nine health institutions and centres in various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman is scheduled for completion as part of the 2026 plan.
