The Persian Gulf country of Oman plans to spend $6.5 billion in the next 25 years to expand and modernize its ailing infrastructure.

The announcement was made by the government’s Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) on Sunday.

Guillaume Merere, a planning manager, from the government agency, said the new funds will go towards the development of new networks to supply areas with water that have recently been added to the country’s water grid.

The plan, said Merere emphasizes “the government’s ambitious plan” to devise, expand and carry out a capable and safe water delivery system that would meet the needs of the country’s growing residents and the expanding financial system.

The government puts its goals for this new strategy in the National Water Sector Master Plan which is a 25-year outline for increasing and strengthening the country's water supply and distribution infrastructure.

This means that the government could be spending $389.6 million every year through to 2040, according to the Public Authority for Electricity and Water.

The plan to refurbish just part of Oman’s infrastructure, particularly its water networks, had been in the works for the past several years.

The government was under pressure to refurbish its outdated infrastructures and to make some new investments that would make its infrastructure reusable for years to come.

Oman is witnessing a budget deficit of $6.47bn that it is forcing the government to issue bonds soon to ease the financial pressure it’s witnessing this year.

The deficit deepened after oil prices slumped to levels not seen in years in January, forcing many governments in the Middle East to pull the funds from many projects causing financial unease felt by the governments and their people, experts said on Arabic media.

HDS/HA