Residential plot allotment up 13.5% compared to last year in Oman

Muscat: A 13.5 per cent year-on-year jump in the number of residential plots allotted by the Ministry of Housing (MoH) has been reported by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
While 26,310 plots were issued during the first five months of last year, the number climbed to 29,865 plots during the same period this year, the latest report by NCSI pointed out.
However, over the last three months the number of residential plots allotted registered a consecutive decline, with the number slumping from 3,047 in March to 2,947 in April and then increasing to 4,326 plots in May.
Significantly, the Governorate of Musandam recorded the highest fillip in land allotments with 227 plots, reflecting a 233.8 per cent surge during the period, from the previous year’s 68 plots.
The Governorate of North A’Sharqiyah came second, with 2,624 residential plots allotted, showing a 190.9 per cent jump over the comparable period.
But the Governorate of Al Wusta was ranked first among governorates for allotting the largest number of plots during the January to May period, with 13,215 plots being allowed, indicating an increase of 10.5 per cent, compared with 11,961 plots in 2015.
The Governorate of A’Dhakhliyah allotted the second largest number of residential plots at 2,983; while the Governorate of North Al Batinah logged a 2.9 per cent drop in allotments, with 2,815 plots. The Governorate of South A’Sharqiyah recorded a 57.69 per cent rise in the number of allotted plots at 2,399, while the Governorate of Al Buraimi posted a 45.8 per cent decline with 2,213 plots granted.
The number of plots issued in the Governorate of South Al-Batinah rose by 28.4 per cent to 1,523, while Muscat recorded an 11.9 per cent increase taking the number of allotted plots to 1,004.
In the Governorate of Dhofar, the rise was 78.9 per cent, with the corresponding number of plots issued pegged at 126.