Muscat Municipality recently introduced a number of legislative measures to ease and expedite the procedures needed to carry out municipal services.  

The new measures were intended to promote the sultanate’s competitiveness as it is a main pillar to improve the national economy. Of the services that were focused on include issuing of soil investigation report, construction permits and certificates of completion of constructions.  

The concept of competitiveness has been developed as one of the values of municipal strategies, involving administrative and technical applications in the delivery of services, with the highest standards of quality and speed. 

Of the services that were modified is the time consumed in obtaining a building permit for residential projects and industrial warehouses to be five working days. It is the same for permits for modifications or additions to existing buildings.  

Even certificate of completion of construction now takes four working days. Soil investigation report is only required for buildings exceeding three floors and government buildings. Given that the consultancy offices are a strategic partner in development, they have been guided to abide by the membership of the Oman Society of Engineers.