Priority for water projects

The Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources seeks to improve civic amenities in accordance with its vision of providing services with high quality and efficiency. The ministry undertakes implementation of municipal projects as well as expansion of water projects and maintenance of resources. A number of infrastructure, beautification and development projects were implemented during 2018, including paving 855 km of internal roads, installing 1,079 lighting columns in various wilayats.

The ministry carried out 98 beautification projects all over the Sultanate bringing the aesthetic image of those places to the fore. During the same year, the ministry also received the traditional souq project in Saham, North Batinah Governorate, with an area of 6,200 square metres. The souq has 92 shops for selling traditional local products, as well as facilities for various services. Regarding organising construction activities and following up on the implementation of Buildings Organisation Regulations, the year 2018 saw the issuance of 19,797 large building permits of various types. The number of building completion certificates of different types issued during the same period reached 20,559.

Strengthening its role in monitoring various food establishments to ensure the health and safety of consumers, the ministry issued 9,916 warnings during 2018, carried out 14,374 cases of destroying bad food and ordered 1,653 closures relating to violations. In the water sector, the ministry embarked on the work on flood protection dam project in Sur, South Sharqiyah Governorate. The storage capacity of the dam is estimated at 22 million cubic metres.

The ministry also issued orders on the construction of the Wadi Al-Oyon sub-groundwater Dam in the Wilayat of Al Mudhaibi, North Sharqiyah with a storage capacity of 734,000 cubic metres. The dam is being erected to reserve rainwater, which normally flows on to the sea or desert. The ministry initiated several steps to preserve aflaj, improve their management and preserve their cultural heritage. A total of 39 projects including maintenance of 49 wells and drilling of auxiliary wells, were completed in different governorates in 2018.