The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoFA) of Oman has established the Oman Aquaculture Development Co. (OADC) in order to bring new investments into the country’s aquaculture sector. The new company is part of the ministry’s goal to expand aquaculture to account for 2% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020 and to support production of 220,000 tons by 2030 – up from 206,000 tons today. The MoFA has signed a memorandum of understanding with Oman Investment Fund (OIF) to start a RO30 million (US$77.3 million) fish farming project for the production of shrimps, marine algae, and hatcheries as the initial project under the scheme. The OADC plans to promote investor confidence by investing in commercial scale projects and successfully managing them. The OADC will also look to establish joint ventures with foreign companies to bring foreign expertise to the sector and to help build the confidence of foreign investors. The ministry is currently processing 19 project applications with investments worth RO145 million (US$377 million)
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