Though still in the planning stages, Oman is contemplating building a new smart city. The blueprint, designed by U.S. architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), envisions Sultan Haitham City with a projected population of 100,000 residents. The site would cover almost six square miles and include space for 19 planned neighborhoods of modest high-rise residences, universities, healthcare facilities, shopping centers, and mosques.
CNN Style reports that the new smart city is part of Oman’s large scale “Oman Vision 2040” initiative. The stated goal of the project is to increase the use of renewable resources and reduce the country’s heavy dependence on oil.
According to SOM, their smart city will incorporate solar energy facilities, wastewater recycling, electric vehicle infrastructure and waste-to-energy plants. The firm also intends to use building materials that can withstand the desert temperatures, and create shady areas to increase the comfort of the residents. Bernhard Rettig, one of SOM’s senior associate principals, noted that Sultan Haitham City’s “smart infrastructure” would include the ability to “monitor environmental factors such as air quality and water management.”
The city will also use “smart” features to help monitor the flow of traffic. Sultan Haitham City is penciled in for an undeveloped area outside the capital city of Muscat. Though Muscat is located on the coastline of the Arabian Sea, the new smart city will occupy a site further inland. Oman’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning has indicated that the capital will link to Sultan Haitham City via a developing mass transit system. The government has said it views the proposed smart city as “an urban expansion” of Muscat.
As CNN notes, the final stages of the smart city plans are not projected to be completed until 2045. If all goes as planned, Sultan Haitham City will be approximately the same size as Beverly Hills, but with three times as many people living there.
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