On 20 September 2026, Oman published the executive regulations for its Special Economic Zones and Free Zones Law. The same month, Oman’s ports were reporting some of the strongest numbers in their history, as shipping lines hunted for routes around the Strait of Hormuz. If you’ve been weighing Duqm vs Sohar vs Salalah free zone for your business, 2026 is the year the answer started to matter much more.
On paper, Duqm vs Sohar vs Salalah free zone looks like a close contest. All three zones offer tax holidays and full foreign ownership. What separates them is geography, the port next door and the kind of business each one is built for. Pick the wrong one and you’ll pay for it in trucking bills, not licence fees.
What All Three Zones Now Have in Common
Since 14 April 2025, one law governs them all: Royal Decree 38/2025, supervised by the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ). It replaced the older free zone law and the separate Duqm law. The headline terms:
- Tax holiday: a 10-year income tax exemption for qualifying enterprises, renewable for two further periods for activities of a special nature.
- Ownership: 100% foreign ownership of operators, enterprises and real estate developers.
- Capital: exemption from minimum capital requirements, subject to board approval.
- One-stop shop: licences, land and permits handled through a single channel, expanded under the new executive regulations (OPAZ Resolution 81/2026).
- Existing companies keep the incentives they were granted under the old rules until those periods run out.
The September 2026 regulations also set rules for off-plan sales with escrow protection, freehold ownership of units in qualifying developments, and residency for expatriate investors and property owners. So the real choice comes down to location and fit.
Sohar Freezone: The Northern Gateway
Sohar Freezone sits beside the Port of Sohar on Oman’s northern coast, close to the UAE border. It’s had a remarkable year. The port handled 52 million tonnes of cargo in the first half of 2026, up 52% on the same period of 2025, with ship-to-ship operations making up roughly 24 million tonnes of that.
Its UAE links are also getting stronger. Oman ratified the Hafeet Rail agreement connecting the UAE and Sohar by Royal Decree 75/2026, and the Sharjah–Oman logistics corridor reported a 66% jump in the value of goods over three months.
Best for: trading and re-export into the UAE and wider GCC, metals and manufacturing, and logistics businesses that need road and future rail access north.
Salalah Free Zone: The Southern Transshipment Hub
Salalah Free Zone neighbours the Port of Salalah in Dhofar, one of the region’s major transshipment ports facing the Arabian Sea. Its container terminal handled 2.33 million TEU in the first half of 2026, up 15% year-on-year, while general cargo rose 9% to 14.04 million tonnes.
Location is its big advantage: it’s well placed for East Africa, South Asia and global east–west shipping lanes. The honest caveat is that geography doesn’t remove all risk. A drone strike on fuel tanks at the port on 11 March 2026 forced a temporary suspension of operations.
Best for: transshipment-linked businesses, food and commodity processing, and companies serving East Africa and South Asia.
Duqm SEZ: The Heavy-Industry Play
Duqm is different in character. Covering about 2,000 square kilometres on the central Arabian Sea coast, it’s a full special economic zone built around a deep-water port, a refinery, a dry dock and large industrial land banks. It suits projects that need space and scale more than an existing consumer market next door.
Duqm is also more remote. Muscat is a long drive away, the local workforce and housing market are smaller, and like Salalah, Duqm has been touched by drone incidents during this year’s regional conflict.
For many investors, this is where the Duqm vs Sohar vs Salalah free zone question gets decided: do you need a market next door, or room to build? Best for: energy, petrochemicals, green hydrogen, ship repair, fisheries processing and other land-hungry industrial projects with long time horizons.
Duqm vs Sohar vs Salalah Free Zone at a Glance
SoharSalalahDuqmLocationNorth coast, near UAE borderFar south, DhofarCentral Arabian Sea coastPort momentum (H1 2026)52m tonnes, +52%2.33m TEU, +15%Strategic deep-water portMain strengthGCC road and rail accessGlobal transshipment linksLand and heavy-industry scaleTypical fitTrading, manufacturing, logisticsProcessing, re-export, shippingEnergy, industry, large projectsWatch out forCompetition for spaceRegional security incidentsRemoteness and workforceDon’t Forget Al Mazunah
OPAZ also supervises a fourth zone, Al Mazunah Free Zone in Dhofar near the Yemeni border. It’s a niche option focused on cross-border trade, so it rarely makes the shortlist unless your customers are on that route, but it’s worth knowing it exists.
Four Questions That Settle It
- Where are your customers? North and GCC points to Sohar; East Africa and global shipping to Salalah; project-based or export industry to Duqm.
- How much land do you need? A warehouse fits anywhere. Hundreds of hectares usually means Duqm.
- How dependent are you on one shipping route? Ask how your supply chain behaves if a route closes. That’s been a practical question in 2026, not a theoretical one.
- Can you staff it? Sohar and Salalah sit near established cities; Duqm needs more planning around housing and hiring.
One more reminder: a free zone is built for manufacturing, logistics and trade beyond Oman’s domestic market. Goods moving from the zone into the Omani market are treated as imports, so if your main customers are inside Oman, compare a mainland company too.
How Setting Up in an Oman Free Zone Works
- Shortlist the zone and activity. Confirm your activity is permitted in that zone and matches the licence type you need.
- Apply through the one-stop shop. Under the new regulations, land, licences, approvals and permits run through a single OPAZ channel.
- Secure land or premises. Zones lease land on long-term agreements, which helps with project financing.
- Register the company and obtain the licence. Industrial, commercial and service licences carry different conditions.
- Apply for the tax exemption. The income tax holiday isn’t automatic; qualifying enterprises apply for it.
- Sort visas and hiring. Plan work permits and Omani hiring requirements alongside construction, not after it.
Whichever you choose in the Duqm vs Sohar vs Salalah free zone decision, the process is now far more consistent across all three than it was before 2025.
The Bottom Line
There’s no single best zone. When you compare Duqm vs Sohar vs Salalah free zone honestly, the winner is simply the one whose port, road links and land match the way your goods and customers already move. The new law levelled the incentives; geography now decides.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Oman free zone has the longest tax holiday?
All three follow Royal Decree 38/2025: 10 years, renewable twice for activities of a special nature.
Can foreigners own 100% of a free zone company in Oman?
Yes. The new law allows 100% foreign ownership of operators and enterprises in the zones.
Is there a minimum capital in Oman’s free zones?
The law allows exemption from minimum capital requirements, subject to board approval.
Can a free zone company sell inside Oman?
Yes, but goods entering the Omani market from the zone are treated as imports.
Duqm vs Sohar vs Salalah free zone: which is best for trading?
Sohar usually suits GCC-focused trading; Salalah suits transshipment and East Africa routes.