SALALAH: An integrated framework setting out a long-term vision for Greater Salalah’s development was presented in Salalah today , bringing economic growth, housing, transport, infrastructure, environmental protection and cultural heritage together under a single spatial strategy extending to 2040.
Presented during a workshop on the final general framework of the Greater Salalah Structure Plan, the proposal seeks to move beyond sector-by-sector planning by ensuring that land use, investment, public services and infrastructure complement one another. “We are not dealing with separate projects, but with an integrated system in which every project supports another and every investment creates added value around it,” the presenter said during the workshop.
The framework outlines a vision for a more diversified economy, a more vibrant urban environment, a more efficient transport network, stronger environmental sustainability, more resilient infrastructure and a city that preserves its cultural identity. It also seeks to strengthen links between Greater Salalah’s main economic assets, including the Port of Salalah, Salalah Free Zone and Salalah Airport, while improving connectivity between residential areas, employment centres and public services.
Among the concepts presented were more compact urban development, stronger protection of agricultural and environmentally sensitive areas, improved public transport, year-round tourism development and closer integration between economic, social and environmental planning.
The framework is structured around six broad aims: a more productive economy, more liveable neighbourhoods, stronger connectivity, environmental protection, preservation of Salalah’s identity and greater resilience to future pressures. It also proposes a coordinated approach to managing future urban growth, with greater emphasis on using vacant and underdeveloped land within existing areas before expanding further outward.
Officials stressed that completing the framework represents the beginning of the implementation phase rather than the end of the planning process.“The real measure of success will not be what is written in reports, but what we succeed together in achieving on the ground through continued partnership between different entities,” the presenter said. The framework is intended to provide a strategic reference for future planning, investment and infrastructure decisions, while strengthening Salalah’s position as a leading economic, tourism and urban centre in the Sultanate of Oman.
