Urban October Opens in Muscat with 20 Agreements Worth Over OMR 1 Billion for New Cities, Housing and Waterfront Tourism
Muscat opened its annual Urban October programme on Monday with a signing ceremony that put more than OMR 1 billion of private and public capital behind new homes, planned cities and tourism districts. Twenty development, partnership and tender agreements were concluded at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre during the opening of the Urban Exhibition and Conference, the Home and Building Exhibition, and World Habitat Day 2026.
The event is organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning in partnership with UN-Habitat and runs until 8 October. It was held under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Abdulmalik bin Abdullah Al Khalili, Chairman of the State Council, with Anacláudia Rossbach, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat, taking part. This year’s World Habitat Day theme, “Adequate Housing for All”, set the tone for four days of ministerial sessions and investor meetings.
Sultan Haitham City and Al Thuraya Take Shape
Three agreements concern Sultan Haitham City, the flagship planned district on the edge of Muscat. The ministry awarded construction of a rehabilitation complex for persons with disabilities and a care home for the elderly to Saif Al Harrasi and Partners, at an investment value above OMR 12 million. A second tender, Package 22, will divert the wadi channel along the eastern boundary of Al Baraka Palace and went to Rawasi Road Projects for more than OMR 14 million. A community contribution agreement with Aflaj Group will deliver a sports and health walking track inside the city.
In Al Thuraya City, the detailed master plan for the third phase was awarded to the Danish practice BIG, which won the international design competition for the city, in a contract worth OMR 4.5 million. Zawaya Group signed a partnership to develop District C5, with 220 homes and an investment of OMR 45 million, while Al Namaa Real Estate committed about OMR 55 million to a further 265 residential units across two districts.
Sorouh Neighbourhoods Reach Eight Governorates
The largest single block of agreements falls under Sorouh, the ministry’s programme for integrated residential neighbourhoods built with private developers. Eight agreements with a combined value exceeding OMR 186.6 million will deliver 3,442 housing units on more than 1.14 million square metres. The schemes are spread across Bidbid, Bahla, Nizwa, Al Buraimi, Rustaq, Sohar, Bawshar and Taqah, which places new supply in fast-growing interior and coastal towns rather than concentrating it in the capital.
In Khazaen Economic City, Mada Group signed an agreement worth OMR 50 million to build an integrated residential neighbourhood, giving the logistics and industrial zone the housing base it needs to keep workers close to their jobs. In Musandam, Al Saeq Company won tenders worth OMR 5 million to build a government school and a health centre in the Kumzar residential plan.
Waterfronts and Integrated Tourism Complexes
Three agreements target tourism. The waterfront of Port Sultan Qaboos will be redeveloped with the Oman Tourism Development Company (OMRAN Group). Al Bandar Development signed for the Al Bandar project, and Masat Al Qurm Development took a usufruct contract and development agreement for Yinkit Hills, one of the integrated tourism complexes. The ceremony closed with a memorandum of understanding between Oman and Türkiye on housing and urban planning.
What the Agreements Signal
The weight of the package lies in its structure. Most of the capital comes from developers working under partnership and usufruct models, with the state supplying land, planning and infrastructure. That arrangement spreads risk, speeds delivery and keeps public spending focused on the networks that make a neighbourhood function.
The programme for the coming days follows the same logic. Tuesday turns to emerging and fast-growing cities, including light rail stations in Muscat and lessons from Seoul, Medellín and Rotterdam. Wednesday reviews structural plans for Buraimi, Salalah, Muscat, Sur, Rustaq and Nizwa, and Thursday asks how housing can grow into complete communities. More than 200 exhibitors from over 50 countries and 65 real estate developers are taking part.
For Oman Vision 2040, which calls for balanced growth across the governorates, the numbers from the opening day matter less than where the homes are going. Housing in Taqah, Bahla and Al Buraimi gives young families a reason to stay in their home wilayats, and that is the test the new cities will ultimately face.
Source: Oman Daily Newspaper (جريدة عُمان) | Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning
