Four-fold plan to make Muscat even better city to live in

Four main goals centred around community welfare and happiness have been designed by the Muscat Municipality, in order to make Oman’s capital an even nicer place to live.

Improving peoples’ lifestyle, providing support in the form of advanced municipal and online services, and building a sustainable environment in the city are part of the plan. Sustainable environments are also important to the strategic objectives of the government when it comes to attracting investors to the country.

A key aspect of development includes setting up a smart, sustainable and vibrant urban structure in line with managing the environment, preserving its natural resources and mitigating the effects of climate change, in addition to regulating the urban pattern of the city.

Economic development geared towards enhancing the role played by the private sector is the third goal listed by the Muscat Municipality. The private sector has been earmarked as a key player in achieving the aspiration of the nation.

The fourth objective is good institutional performance in the form of effectively serving people, providing an environment that stimulates innovation and creativity, and keeps pace with modern developments and changes.

This is represented in promoting the values of belonging, transparency and professionalism, as well as the values of social responsibility and beneficiary service.

All of these aspects will be incorporated, while still keeping in mind the importance of preserving traditional Omani values and architecture.

This four-fold plan forms the core of Muscat Municipality’s development initiatives for the capital, titled “A Sustainable, Prosperous Muscat”.

“The vision is reflected in the element of prosperity, by developing and investing in services and facilities, and reviving the economic, investment, social, youth and development aspects in order to achieve added returns for the Governorate of Muscat,” said a statement from Muscat Municipality.

The plan also aims to “generate opportunities for establishing infrastructure by investing in assets to achieve competitiveness among the various cities of the world. One of the pillars of the governorate’s vision is to be vibrant, vital and interact with the surrounding environments.”

A big part of Muscat Municipality’s plan in making the city more vibrant is to add more elements such as public parks, natural green spaces, playgrounds, playgrounds, pedestrian pathways, marketplaces, festival zones, and take care of proper sanitation to maintain exceptional standards of public hygiene.

Organising more events and activities, adding well-equipped health facilities for people, developing hiking paths, and upgrading tourist areas and beaches to provide proper amenities to visitors, are also key to the enhancement of Muscat as a city to live in and visit.

Muscat Municipality added, “One of the elements that makes the cities vibrant is the ‘humanisation of cities’. The environment and the aesthetic impact of other structures will raise the morale of the people in a city that is more livable, and harness all the elements within to make them happier.”

The planned improvement also comes within the larger plan of establishing Muscat as a city built on the concept of sustainability, as well as one that preserves the history and legacy of Oman, and builds a capital for future generations.

The city is expected to set the standards for the foundations of strategic projects, whether at governorate or national level, to ensure their sustainability and validity, reduce waste, and rationalise costs.

Working to build a city for future generations, Muscat Governorate has, during the recent past, carried out the directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik, and organised a series of meetings with the youth across various wilayats in the capital and surrounding areas.

“Through these meetings, the governorate sought to listen to their visions, stay in touch with their needs and interests, introduce them to the governorate’s vision, review development and service projects in the wilayats, explain the objectives of the executive plans for the next phase of development, and discuss the ideas and aspirations put forward by young people,” said Muscat Municipality.