Muscat Municipality is seeking private-sector partners for 12 development sites across Oman’s capital, led by waterfront projects in Qurum, Muttrah, Seeb and Qurayyat.
The sites will be presented at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning’s Urban October 2026 event and cover hospitality, commercial, leisure, healthcare and public-realm uses.
Some projects are already well into design. Others have defined uses but no architectural scheme, leaving more room for future investors and development teams to shape them.
The coastal projects come five months after the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning launched the Greater Muscat Structure Plan. Its Green Muscat programme calls for beaches and wadis to be used as natural public spaces and targets four priority parks as part of the capital’s wider open-space network.
Qurum, Muttrah, Seeb and Qurayyat lead waterfront plans
The largest of the four coastal sites is in Qurum, where Muscat Municipality plans to bring together the Nature Park, protected mangroves and Beach Road within a 1.04 million m² development area.
A 1.6km promenade is planned with kiosks, sea-view cafés and a seasonal market.
In Muttrah, the municipality is seeking private investment for regeneration around the historic port. Proposed uses include commercial buildings, parking, public spaces, craft and food markets and a small hotel.
Further west, Seeb’s 10km public beach is planned as a coastal promenade. Studies are under way and design work is yet to start. Dining, watersports and family facilities are among the intended uses.
On the Qurayyat coast, a 169,150m² beachfront site has been allocated for a public park.
Al Thalath design complete as investor sought
Al Thalath is the most advanced project in the portfolio, with its architectural design complete and an investor now being sought to move it into construction.
German architecture practice KSP Engel won first prize for the project in an international competition in July 2025. The development comprises three sculptural buildings containing a four-star hotel and office space.
Planned for an 8,051m² site around 100 metres from Mall of Oman, it includes a 220-room hotel and 10,100m² of leasable offices.
KSP Engel says the three volumes take cues from faceted gemstones. A modular planning system allows flexibility in the office areas, while the stone façades reinterpret traditional mashrabiya elements. The screens provide shade and are intended to reduce cooling demand.
Internal courtyards bring daylight and natural ventilation into the buildings, while passive cooling measures form part of the design.
Bousher Dunes remains under design
Bousher Dunes is another project where design work is already in progress. The municipality’s current investment offer covers 54,175m² less than 10km from Muscat International Airport.
The project uses the area’s natural sand dunes for off-road recreation, family activities and evening events. Plans include a shaded 600-seat open-air theatre, a visitor centre and restaurant, five food-truck units and 18 retail units.
Arab Engineering Bureau (AEB), an architecture and engineering consultancy, lists Muscat Municipality as the client and itself as lead consultant for architecture and engineering, masterplanning, urban design, design and supervision. AEB currently records Bousher Dunes as being at the design stage.
Six sites remain open for design
The remaining six plots are already zoned for their intended uses but do not yet have architectural designs.
Investors will therefore be able to develop the individual schemes within the uses established for each site.
All 12 sites are being offered on long-term investment terms. Muscat Municipality is inviting developers, investors and operators to discuss the projects, their requirements and anticipated development timelines during Urban October 2026.
Photo: AETOSWire
