450 sq km of land in Dhofar under study for green projects

MUSCAT: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning is weighing approvals for land covering an estimated 450 million sq metres (approx. 450 sq kilometres) to be earmarked for renewables and green hydrogen projects in the Governorate of Dhofar.

According to Sultan al Ghafri, Director General of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning in Governorate of Dhofar, the process is being facilitated in coordinated with a number of concerned ministries and government agencies.

The entire effort, he noted, is being pursued in a transparent and efficient manner with the goal of attracting, on the one land, local and foreign investment in green energy projects, and on the other, upgrading housing services and urban planning to meet stipulated benchmarks.

In other developments, the Directorate General has also allocated a large number of plots have for food security projects within the Najd Agricultural Development Area in cooperation with the concerned authorities, he said.

Additionally, around 1,400 citizens who met eligibility conditions were granted the opportunity to select their choice of residential lands in the various wilayats of Dhofar Governorate through the ‘Choose Your Land’ portal of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning during the first half of this year.

Efforts are also ongoing to provide housing assistance to a number of beneficiaries. A total amount of RO 2.025 million has so far been disbursed under this programme out of an allocation of RO 3 million earmarked for this year.

Besides, the Directorate-General has granted 8 land plots the Ministry’s usufruct system, in addition to 12 plots under the bidding system via the ‘Development’ platform.

Furthermore, the Directorate General has completed the procedures for distributing 250 housing units in the centre of the Wilayat of Al Mazyouna at the end of last year. This is in line with the Ministry’s keenness to support the wilayat’s development, enable sustainable urban development, raising the standard of living of the community and provide decent and suitable housing for citizens.

He added, “The directorate seeks to implement development programs such as new future cities projects, real estate development, food security and various economic projects and to determine the appropriate sites for them, in accordance with the outputs of the regional urban strategy 2040.”