Muscat – Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning held a forum on Tuesday to present major investment opportunities as part of the Governorates Development Competition. Held under the patronage of H H Sayyid Marwan bin Turki al Said, Governor of Dhofar, the forum was part of the ongoing Urban October Conference and Home & Building Expo being held at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The forum showcased a range of winning projects from the 2023-2024 competition and unveiled investment opportunities valued at over RO82mn. One of the key developments presented was the Rathath Boulevard in Salalah, covering 470,000sqm and expected to attract investments worth RO40mn. Another major project is the Ames Bay development in Khasab, Musandam spanning 68,700sqm and estimated investment of RO7mn. The Ramal Park project in Khabbat al Jadaan, South Batinah covering 225,000sqm is also valued at RO7mn.

Other significant projects include the Al Durra development in Al Khoubra, North Batinah spread over 60,000sqm and investment of RO9.8mn, and the Jebel Shams Grand Canyon Front project in Al Hamra on 148,000sqm and investment of RO7.7mn. The Al Ittihad project in Ibri, Dakhliyah is set to be one of the largest, covering over 2mn sqm with an investment value of RO10.8mn.

In addition to these, the forum highlighted various urban renewal initiatives in Buraimi, Dhofar and South Batinah, as well as community-based projects in Dakhliyah. It also introduced eight new integrated residential neighbourhoods. These include five projects – in Al Hamra, Bahla, Bidiyah, Jalan Bani Bu Ali and Liwa – covering a combined area of over 1.3mn sqm. Three are proposed in Izki, Samail and Al Buraimi of total area exceeding 379,000sqm, providing housing for over 9,000 families.

Additionally, the ministry signed 77 usufruct agreements covering over 1mn sqm of investment value RO20mn across multiple governorates. These agreements include 14 contracts in the commercial sector (spanning 83,000sqm worth over RO6.6mn), 16 contracts in the residential-commercial sector (covering 18,000sqm with investment of RO5.4mn), and 47 contracts in the industrial sector (spread over 972,000sqm valued at over RO8mn).

A major focus of the conference is housing. Agreements were signed for the purchase of 200 housing units in integrated residential projects aimed at providing affordable social housing to social security families. The total investment for this initiative exceeds RO8.5mn and includes projects like the Al Shorouk neighbourhood in Salalah, Hai Majd in Sohar and Hai al Luban in Halban.