Oman's new Liwa housing project to have nearly 3,500 residences

Oman Tuesday 06/October/2020 20:32 PM
By: Times News Service
Oman's new Liwa housing project to have nearly 3,500 residences

Liwa: A new housing project in Liwa, which is being built to provide accommodation to those affected by the activities of Sohar Port, will have close to 3,500 residential homes when completed.

Once complete, the project, which is being built in Naber area, will include other essential services for its inhabitants, including schools, places of worship, a health centre, power generation stations, two filling stations, parks, playgrounds, and lands for commercial establishments such as malls.

The project, currently under construction, was recently visited by the Minister of Housing and other officials, who went to Wilayat of Liwa to inspect the site.

“The project manager gave a presentation about the new residential city that is being built within an integrated services housing scheme that includes 2,963 residential plots on an area of 1,256 hectares and includes about 3,400 residential homes that include projects for infrastructure, roads and lighting,” said the Ministry of Housing in a statement.

“The new residential area in the Wilayat of Liwa was constructed as part of the project, after which properties will be transferred to people affected by the activities of Sohar Port, in the form of compensation in this integrated services housing scheme,” added the ministry.

Compensation for about 3,930 properties affected by the operations at Sohar Port was provided as part of the relocation plan for the families who are expected to move into the new residential project.

So far, seven infrastructure projects have been completed at a value of OMR75.75 million. These include a water network spanning a length of 133 km, a sewage network of a similar length, a 61km irrigation pipeline, electricity cables spanning a total length of 386 km, fibre optic cables measuring 201 km, 41 km of pipes which will go towards rainwater drainage, as well as supplementary tanks to store water.

“The establishment of the area for this project, and the construction of roads for this residential city required 4.8 million cubic metres’ worth of material to fill and level land, as well as carrying out work to divert the path of a wadi, which was about 6.4km long, to ensure the area isn’t affected by rain and flooding,” added the ministry.

“A modern road network was also constructed in Liwa, at a value of OMR25 million, with the aim of facilitating the movement of residents and stimulating commercial movement,” they said. “A dual-lane road spanning 45 km, as well as a 51 km single lane road, along with a lighting system for a length of 96 km.”

The health facility attached to the centre, built at a cost of OMR1.39 million, will span 1,407 square metres, and aims to have the latest medical equipment with a full complement of staff to care for residents in the project.

The Ministry of Housing went on to add, “Currently, five modern schools are being built for different educational levels for students of the new residential area of Liwa, at a value of OMR 12 million. Two schools will provide primary education, two will provide secondary education, and one will provide diploma-level qualifications.”

A funding of OMR12.5 million has also been set aside for the construction of mosques in the residential complex. This will include space to carry out funerals, homes of imams, and shops, in addition to areas for public councils to gather, and allocation for areas where cemeteries can be set up.