RO 4.3 Billion Investment Plan to Reshape Salalah: Key Opportunities for Investors and Entrepreneurs
SALALAH: The final Greater Salalah Structure Plan reveals an ambitious investment programme estimated at RO 4.3 billion through 2040, encompassing 261 initiatives designed to advance the city’s long-term economic, urban, and infrastructure development.
Unveiled on Monday, July 13, during a workshop on the plan’s general framework, the programme includes 114 capital projects alongside 147 technical assessments spanning transport, infrastructure, economic diversification, environmental resilience, and strategic urban growth.
Capital investments total approximately RO 4.26 billion, with technical studies accounting for around RO 59 million. These figures represent planning estimates and do not reflect approved government budgets or confirmed investments. Each project will undergo further detailed planning, financing, procurement, regulatory approvals, and implementation decisions.
The financing model anticipates a near-equal split between public and private investments, with public funds contributing about RO 2.17 billion (51%) and private capital approximately RO 2.15 billion (49%).
The programme is planned for phased implementation between 2026 and 2040:
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Phase 1 (2026–2030): Estimated at RO 1.40 billion, this stage focuses on foundational infrastructure and priority projects. Key initiatives include public transport systems, renewable energy facilities, desalination and wastewater infrastructure, waste-to-energy projects, healthcare and educational institutions, tourism clusters, logistics studies, and coastal resilience measures.
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Phase 2 (2031–2035): Budgeted around RO 1.25 billion.
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Phase 3 (2036–2040): Estimated at RO 1.65 billion, with planned projects including heritage site development, additional healthcare and education facilities, a convention center, and a proposed home-port development.
Strategic spatial development commands the largest share of investment, with an allocation of approximately RO 1.89 billion (44%). Infrastructure systems follow with an estimated RO 1.34 billion, while sustainability and climate-related initiatives are projected at RO 469 million. Transport projects account for about RO 344 million, alongside further investments in heritage, natural resource management, and economic growth support programs.
The plan highlights six priority investment zones: the Airport City Logistics Hub, Port and Free Zone, Raysut Pharmaceutical Precinct, Innovation District, Civic Precinct, and Taqa Heritage Quarter. These hubs aim to bolster logistics, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, research, public services, tourism, and heritage regeneration.
Population projections under the plan anticipate growth from around 378,500 in 2024 to nearly 613,000 by 2040; employment is expected to rise from approximately 191,750 to over 357,000. Gross domestic product is forecasted to increase from about RO 3.6 billion to roughly RO 10 billion. These projections depend on investment delivery, productivity gains, market conditions, and private sector involvement.
Eng. Aseela al Busaidi, Technical Director of the Greater Salalah Structure Plan at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, emphasized the integrated nature of the framework, which unites the city’s economy, housing, transport, environment, infrastructure, and heritage into a cohesive spatial system.
“We are not dealing with separate projects, but with an integrated system in which every project supports the others and every investment creates added value for its surroundings,” Al Busaidi noted.
She described the structure plan as a comprehensive roadmap to 2040, aiming for a diversified economy, a vibrant urban environment, an efficient transport network, a sustainable natural setting, resilient infrastructure, and a deeply rooted cultural identity.
Al Busaidi highlighted that completing the plan signifies the start of implementation rather than the conclusion of planning. “Real success will not be measured by what is written in reports, but by what we collectively achieve on the ground,” she said, stressing that ongoing collaboration among government bodies and stakeholders is crucial to realize the vision and strengthen Salalah’s role as a premier economic, tourism, and urban center in Oman.
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The Greater Salalah Structure Plan’s RO 4.3 billion investment programme through 2040 signals a transformative economic and urban development phase with a nearly equal public-private funding split, offering substantial opportunities for businesses in infrastructure, transport, tourism, and innovation sectors. Smart investors and entrepreneurs should strategically align with priority zones like the Airport City Logistics Hub and Innovation District to capitalize on the projected population and GDP growth, while being mindful of implementation complexities and phased investment timelines. This integrated, long-term roadmap positions Salalah as a dynamic hub, emphasizing sustainable and diversified economic growth.
