Infrastructure

Muscat maps out its future development plans

November 6, 2024, 7:52 AM

A stakeholder survey revealed that residents love the mountainous skyline of Muscat; new developments are planned to be a maximum of 25 storeys high — A stakeholder survey revealed that residents love the mountainous skyline of Muscat; the majority of development will be low rise

City to double by 2040
Areas reserved for mid-rise
Light rapid rail transit system

Muscat is set to approve a plan that will create a central 55km spine where much of the future development of the Omani capital city will take place.

The city is predicted to double in size by 2040. The Greater Muscat Structure Plan, awaiting approval at cabinet level, provides a map of where future growth will take place, establishes rules for housing projects, outlines plans to introduce green recreational spaces and designates areas for new communities.

Muscat will retain its well-established low-rise character with buildings that are typically five and six storeys high but some areas will have developments of between 20 and 25 storeys.

The plan has been developed by Broadway Malyan, an urban design company with UK headquarters, along with British design and engineering firm Cundall, and Omani engineering consultancy F&M Middle East.

Ash Gupta, director of masterplanning at Broadway Malyan, said the plan involved a multidisciplinary team of 11 consultants to devise a plan to make the city more liveable.

City, Metropolis, Urban A rendering of how Muscat's future central business district in Ghala might look if the plan is adopted — A rendering of how Muscat’s future central business district in Ghala might look

Consultations took place with more than 300 ministerial-level representatives and more than 10,000 local people.

Muscat’s coastal location, hemmed in by the mountains and sea, has meant its growth has been sideways and it now has a sprawl that stretches roughly 60km.

Travelling from one end to the other should be a one-hour journey but can take more than two and a half hours, particularly during rush hours.

The plan to overcome the sprawl involves introducing a new spine to the city, created by a new light rapid rail transit system that Gupta said will be similar to London’s Docklands Light Railway.

A study on the $2.6 billion Muscat metro project is expected to by the end of this year, the transport minister said in February. The 55km line is planned to connect Sultan Haitham City in the west to the commercial hub of Ruwi in downtown Muscat, with a total of 42 stations.

Gupta said the rail will get people out of their cars. Muscat has a car population rate of 1.7 per person and 93 percent of all trips are by car, compared to 38 percent in London, 70 percent in Bangkok and 80 percent in Dubai.

“More than 80 percent of the projected population are going to be within the catchment of five to 10 minutes within that spine,” he said.

There will be dedicated greenfield developments along the route, with half of the area within the catchment of the railway route expected to undergo regeneration.

Details about where each station is located haven’t been unveiled yet, but Gupta said seven stations will have a mixed-use area around them of about a kilometre. Demand is already high, with “enquiries from all around the world”, he said.

City, Urban, Shop A new light rapid rail transit system, similar to London’s Docklands Light Railway, will form the new spine of the city — A new light rapid rail transit system, similar to London’s Docklands Light Railway, will form the new spine of the city

Three unnamed areas in the city have been identified as being for mid-rise development, with architectural practices in the UK currently drawing up masterplans for a new central business district, a new downtown area and an area within the older part of the city. These will be along the proposed metro line and each built around a station.

Gupta said that the stakeholder survey revealed a widespread love of the city’s skyline and mountain views. “We need to preserve this, but we also need some va-va-voom factors,” he said.

For this reason, developments will be a maximum of 25 storeys high. “We don’t want to make it Dubai,” said Gupta.

The city has a longstanding issue with flooding, with 45 percent of the city at risk from floods, caused by wadis – dry riverbeds – that criss-cross the city. There will be no development in these areas and instead they will be planted with vegetation and transformed into green open spaces for the local communities.

Gupta declined to reveal how much it is estimated the plan will cost, but Bloomberg reports that it requires a $19 billion investment.

Bloomberg’s report also predicts the investment would yield a $50 billion return for the Omani capital.

The plan is due to go before Oman’s cabinet for approval.

Gupta said it offers a new blueprint to attract investors. “There’s a lot of investment interest from Southeast Asian countries,” he said.