Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology (MTCIT) has reportedly opened a new data hosting and cryptocurrency mining center in the Salalah Free Zone. The facility’s estimated value is over RO 135 million (more than $350 million).

Another country that decided to spend millions of dollars on a crypto mine is Kyrgyzstan, whose center will be powered by a hydroelectric station near the Naryn river.

Doubling Down

As reported by a local media outlet, the authorities of Oman have introduced a second cryptocurrency mining center after the one announced in November 2022 (valued at almost $390 million). The combined investment of $740 million could significantly boost the local digital economy, provide numerous job opportunities for Omanis, and place the country as a global data hosting and mining hub.

The company which set up the facilities is Exahertz International. Its CEO Sam Fedows hinted that a wider network of blockchain-based centers could pop up in the Sultanate of Oman in the near future, starting with a pilot in the Salalah Free Zone.

The project is already live and involves more than 2,000 machines. The capacity will be strengthened by additional 15,000 devices by October, while the trial could also cover other regions such as Al Jabal Al Akhdar and Al Dakhiliyah Governorate.

Fedows informed that the crypto mining centers will use local infrastructure (including electricity and personnel), arguing they could boost Oman’s economy. He added that the facilities use machines produced by the Chinese crypto mining manufacturer Bitmain Technologies. 

Subsequently, the exec predicted that the project will be beneficial for Oman’s development and economic growth. He p