10,000 government tenders across 57 entities: what the 2026 Projects Forum told contractors

At the Government Projects Forum 2026 in Muscat on 15 February, the Projects, Tenders and Local Content Authority said about 10,000 tenders are planned across 57 government entities. The estimated value exceeds RO 1.5 billion: more than RO 475 million in approved projects and a further RO 1 billion under study.

Small and medium enterprises were given their own line. Over RO 90 million of the approved projects and more than RO 203 million of the projects under evaluation are allocated to SMEs. Reporting lists ports, roads, dams, buildings, public facilities, maintenance, pipeline networks and well drilling among the works, across construction, procurement, public services, IT, electromechanical contracting and consultancy.

The Secretariat General of the Tender Board became the Projects, Tenders and Local Content Authority under Royal Decree 57/2025, with a mandate that pairs procurement with local content. The forum's message was that a unified digital tendering system will carry the pipeline, and that transparency and local content will be scored, not assumed.

Classification is the gate. A contractor or consultancy that is not registered and graded with the authority cannot see most of this. Check the grade you hold against the size of the packages you want, and renew before it lapses.

Local content is the tiebreaker. In-Country Value scoring means your supply chain, your Omani staff and your subcontractors are part of your bid. Build the ICV file once and keep it current rather than assembling it per tender.

SME set-asides are real money. A firm that qualifies as an SME with Riyada should be looking at the RO 293 million reserved slice first, where the competition is thinner.