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Oman’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning has invited bids from international consultants to prepare detailed masterplan and design for smart cities at Sohar and Nizwa.
Bid submission closes on 11 July 2022.
The projects are part of the plans laid out under the Oman National Spatial Strategy (ONSS) approved in March 2021. It provides a broad framework to direct urban growth in the Sultanate over the next twenty years.
According to the strategy document, Sohar, in Al Batinah Governorate, will be developed as a national gateway city and its port and airport facilities will be used to expand access to foreign markets. The Governorate will be the premier centre for international trade building upon its industrial, mineral and agricultural resources.
The strategy envisages the Ad Dakhiliyah Governorate as Oman’s knowledge centre and its main city Nizwa as a hub for high value businesses such as design, fashion, culture and entertainment.
(Writing by Sowmya Sundar; Editing by Anoop Menon)
