The Greater Muscat Structure Plan published in The National News
New details about the project for the Greater Muscat Structure Plan have been published exclusively in The National News.
Muscat could get railway and water taxis to hit net-zero targets.
A light railway, new buses and water taxis could be introduced to Muscat under plans to transform Oman’s capital in an effort to meet net-zero goals.
The Greater Muscat Structure Plan (GMSP) to modernise the city has been submitted to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, said Broadway Malyan, the company in charge of urban planning under the programme.
The proposals, part of the sultanate’s ambitious Vision 2040 programme to reduce its reliance on oil revenue, aim to provide more than 54km of transport lines that will put a third of the population within a 20-minute walk of a metro station.
A bus system inspired by Long Beach, California, using 177km of the city’s road network, and water taxis that will run along the city’s 175km coastline are also part of the vision.
Car-reliant city
There was a population explosion in Muscat during the leadership of the late Sultan Qaboos, with the capital’s inhabitants increasing from about 30,000 people in 1970 to more than 1.4 million today.
As Muscat has expanded, the city has become more reliant on cars, as workplaces can be far from residential areas. Fuel is cheap and public transport is still in its infancy.
The country had more than 1.5 million cars registered last year, according to its National Centre for Statistics and Information.
The aim of the project is to develop the GMSP to provide a more focused spatial development strategy for the metropolitan region. The development should balance demands for economic needs and quality of life, while delivering sustainable green growth that supports the prosperity of its people, safeguarding its natural environment and strengthening communities socially and culturally.
MIC-HUB is working with a multidisciplinary team led by F&M Middle East and Broadway Malyan UK balancing international experience with thorough in-depth local knowledge.