Can Oman become the Gulf’s third AI infrastructure hub?

Why Oman believes it can compete

The Sultanate hosts one of the Middle East’s highest concentrations of international submarine cable landings, giving it direct access to major data routes linking Asia, Africa and Europe. Officials believe the combination of connectivity, resilience and geographic diversity could make Oman an attractive location for AI infrastructure and data-intensive workloads.

Ali Amur Al Shidhani, undersecretary for communications and information technology at the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT), claims Oman is building for the long term rather than chasing quick wins. “Oman offers a differentiated value proposition that extends beyond traditional investment incentives,” he said, highlighting digital sovereignty, strong connectivity and sustainable ecosystem development.

Oman presents a distinctive value proposition for AI infrastructure, complementing rather than competing directly with larger Gulf markets like the UAE and Saudi Arabia

As part of that push, the government is advancing the Oman Digital Triangle initiative to create green AI datacentre clusters, supported by competitive energy, targeted incentives and business-friendly policies. It is also investing in sovereign AI capabilities, including Mueen AI, a national generative AI model for government use, as well as planned graphics processing unit (GPU) and high-performance computing (HPC) resources.

This approach resonates with operators on the ground. “Oman presents a distinctive value proposition for AI infrastructure, complementing rather than competing directly with larger Gulf markets like the UAE and Saudi Arabia,” said Kamel Al-Tawil, Equinix’s managing director for the Middle East and North Africa. 

The company sees growing demand for locations that can deliver low-latency regional connectivity and geographic diversity.

Still, connectivity by itself is not enough. The bigger question is whether Oman can build enough ecosystem scale to attract sustained enterprise and hyperscaler investment.

Scale remains the biggest hurdle

Connectivity, sovereignty and geography give Oman a chance, but scale is still the dominant force in the Gulf’s AI race.

Ahmad Shehab, research analyst at Counterpoint Research, argues that the gap between Oman and the region’s AI leaders remains substantial. While Dubai ranked fourth and Abu Dhabi eighth in Counterpoint’s 2025 AI cities index, Muscat did not make the top 100. “Although Oman is enforcing the 2040 vision, it is likely to reinforce the national economy but unlikely to turn Oman into a regional hub under the current parameters,” he said.

Frontier AI models like ChatGPT and Claude will always be hungry for large infrastructure and energy. It’s all about energy cost. If Oman provides competitive energy costs for companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, it will help make AI more affordable

Shehab argues that AI leadership requires far more than GPUs and capital. Strong regulatory frameworks, talent pipelines, ecosystem coordination and global partnerships are equally important. Those are areas where the UAE and Saudi Arabia have built clear advantages through years of hyperscaler investments, startup ecosystem development and national AI programmes.

Enterprise leaders are equally focused on practical economics. Ahmad Khalafallah, CIO at Egyptian International Motors (EIM Group), believes most enterprise value will come from local and domain-specific AI models rather than frontier systems.

“Frontier AI models like ChatGPT and Claude will always be hungry for large infrastructure and energy,” he said. “It’s all about energy cost. If Oman provides competitive energy costs for companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, it will help make AI more affordable.”

What Oman must prove

Oman appears realistic about the road ahead. Success, officials say, will not be judged by investment announcements alone, but by the ability to deliver operational AI-ready infrastructure, sovereign computing capacity and genuine enterprise adoption.

The foundations are still emerging. Oman has around 22 AI-specialised companies and 62 government entities connected to cloud services. These are solid starting points, but they fall short of a mature ecosystem.

Irina Albanese, DHL’s vice-president, global head of innovation centres and head of innovation for the Middle East and Africa, believes the future of AI workloads in the Gulf will be less about a single dominant winner and more about a connected regional ecosystem.

“Established hubs will continue to play a central role,” she said, “but additional markets can create value where they invest in the right infrastructure, provide regulatory clarity and link digital capabilities with real-world operations.”

AI-focused special zones serve as signals of long-term commitment to the infrastructure and governance frameworks enterprises require.

For Oman, this suggests a complementary role rather than direct competition, particularly for sovereign workloads, regional connectivity, and sectors such as logistics and energy, where proximity to operational data matters.

Whether this strategy succeeds remains an open question. Enterprise adoption, talent development, hyperscaler interest and competitive energy costs will decide if Oman becomes a credible AI infrastructure destination or remains an ambitious challenger.

By 2030, Oman aims for the digital economy to contribute at least 5% of GDP. The real test for the AI Special Zone, however, will be whether enterprises choose to place meaningful workloads there.

For now, Oman is not trying to dethrone the UAE or Saudi Arabia. It is trying to prove that there is room for a third AI infrastructure hub in the Gulf.