Oman’s MTCIT organizes Green Mobility Forum

Muscat: The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology organized today the Green Mobility Forum; With the aim of reviewing its plans and initiatives to achieve sustainable development.

The opening of the forum was sponsored by His Excellency Engineer Salem bin Nasser Al-Awfi, Minister of Energy and Minerals.

His Excellency Eng. Saeed bin Hamoud Al Maawali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, explained that the forum came with the aim of stimulating the green mobility sector, indicating that 18 percent of current emissions are emitted from means of transport, especially land transport, which represents a large part of this sector.

His Excellency indicated that the ministry aims to reduce these emissions by 3 percent by 2030, and by 2040 by about 35 percent, in order to reach carbon neutrality in 2050, adding that by the end of the year 2023, the number of electric chargers for electric cars will reach 145, and in 2024 it will reach 250.

Eng. Khamis bin Muhammad Al Shamakhi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology for Transport, said: The Ministry is seeking to achieve zero-carbon neutrality (the transport axis) in implementation of the royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al-Muazzam – may God protect and preserve him – to adopt the year 2050  as the date. to achieve zero carbon neutrality in the Sultanate of Oman; By taking advantage of clean technology to achieve sustainable development, and creating a diverse mix of clean energy sources.

He explained that the ministry’s plan targets 3 main principles to empower the transport, communications and information technology sector, namely: innovation and development in cooperation with the public and private sectors, local added value, and the development of local capabilities.

His Excellency added that the ministry is working on 3 phases to achieve carbon neutrality, as the near phase, which will start in 2025, aims to stimulate electric vehicles, use hydrogen for heavy transport and trucks, use biofuels, enable technology to reduce emissions, enable all main roads with chargers for electric vehicles, and organize Big data for the transportation sector, setting frameworks and legislation for future mobility such as the Internet of Things in transportation.

His Excellency indicated that the middle stage will begin in 2028 and aims to strengthen the Ministry’s efforts with partners to increase the number of environmentally friendly vehicles, enable the use of sustainable fuel for aircraft, provide smart mobility services, establish a regional center to supply ships with green fuel, reduce port emissions, and upgrade existing fuel stations. To contain hydrogen fuel and electric chargers, in addition to linking public transport with the metro scheme in Muscat Governorate, while the distant phase, which will start in 2035, aims to focus entirely on environmentally friendly vehicles and self-driving.

His Excellency the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology for Transport pointed out that the Ministry is currently working in cooperation with various government agencies on the 18 carbon laboratory initiatives; In the field of public transport, the Ministry is implementing an initiative to define a special lane for buses, and an initiative to define the main and secondary public transport network in Greater Muscat.

In the field of environmentally friendly vehicles, the Ministry has launched several initiatives, including hydrogen-powered vehicles, the use of biofuels, and a production plant. The use of hydrogen for vehicles, regulatory specifications for the use of electric vehicles, incentives and incentive packages for environmentally friendly vehicles. In the field of green ports, the ministry is also working on an initiative to convert equipment to electric power, apply smart systems, connect ships to electric power, remove carbon from the port sector, and establish a regional center to supply ships with clean fuel. In the field of reducing environmental pollution, the Ministry installs solar panels at Oman’s airports and ports, in addition to international cooperation to prevent pollution from ships, and establish waiting stations equipped with solar panels at public transport stations. Strengthening supervision and regulation, and transport contract management companies.

His Excellency added that the Ministry is working on other initiatives, including: the “Leadership by Example” initiative, as this initiative contributes to enabling the private sector to adopt electric vehicles, and the “Enabling Hydrogen Trucks” initiative, during which the Ministry, in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, produces and distributes truck supply stations. the “Smart Tracking of Land and Public Transport” initiative; With the aim of maximizing the benefit of roads in the Sultanate, organizing land and public transport, capturing data for future planning, and reducing carbon emissions.

Among the initiatives is the “artificial intelligence” initiative to use the latest software to design and plan roads and reduce distances; This reduces carbon emissions, in addition to the “electrical chargers network” initiative, whereby the Ministry, in cooperation with the Public Services Regulatory Authority, distributes electric chargers on most of the main roads in the Sultanate.