Muttrah Infrastructure Integration and Redevelopment (MIIR)

Muttrah Infrastructure Integration and Redevelopment (MIIR) is a redevelopment project of Muscat’s historic Muttrah district¹. The project aims to transform the historic village of Muttrah into a contemporary urban area, while preserving heritage sites to attract tourists and improve urban livability for residents and visitors². MIIR sets a vision for Mutrah and acts as a guiding plan for sustainable urban development³ in the area through 2050. It focuses on raising the efficiency of health and environmental services, as well as expanding current necessary Services⁴.

The redevelopment plan has set out the following four main goals:

• Livability: Create a healthy urban environment in Muttrah by improving public services for residents.
• Preservation: Preserve the built heritage and maintain the cultural identity of Muttrah.
• Diversity and Inclusiveness: Preserve the culture and cosmopolitan character of Muttrah.
• Innovation and Sustainability: Implement sustainable and eco-friendly urban strategies such as decreasing reliance on cars, sorting waste management etc.

To implement the project’s objectives, a master plan⁵ was proposed which extends along a 4.7 square kilometer at Mutrah in Muscat City⁶ and includes the areas surrounding Muttrah Souq, the old Muttrah neighborhood that runs from Bait Oman to Souq al Lawatia, and the portion of Riyam Park that ends at the roundabout at Port Sultan Qaboos’ entrance^{7 8}. The master plan area includes the historical center and the market (Souk), the mountainous Skyline, the Fort, the towers and the ancient city wall, the “Corniche”, the new residential areas and historical buildings⁹. The integrated plan includes multimodal mobility strategy, traffic and parking plan, heritage conservation, public services and facilities plan, tourism and cultural strategies, Matrah smart city strategy, security and safety strategy, public realm strategies, and preliminary project areas¹⁰.

The implementation of the plan is incremental¹¹ and involves midterm term targets that are to be achieved by 2025. It includes the improvement of urban services and infrastructure works such as water supply and sewerage systems, wastewater treatment, power supply, a telecommunication system with the introduction of fiber optics, a road lighting system, and fire-fighting and irrigation systems. It also includes providing parking spaces in the area, as well as the creation of public spaces and the widening of some key streets.

The project is initiated by Muscat Municipality¹² that has specified a master plan for the project proposed by Sering Ingegneria and Norplan Consulting Engineers and Planners^{13 14}. The master plan will be implemented by Muscat Municipality and Haya Water¹⁵ , a government-owned company as the principal contractors responsible for project implementation which set an intermediate target to 2025 where the overall estimated project construction cost is in the region of US$ 1.29 billion^{16 17}.

The project occurred in two main stages:

• Initial Phase: Gathering information, identifying problems and potential opportunities in the Project Area, crafting a Vision and preliminary concept, guidelines, and proposals¹⁸.
• Following Phase [2015/2016]: Concentrated on refining the proposals and specifying the program and plans for implementing the Master Plan¹⁹.