Hai Al Naseem

Hai Al Naseem is an affordable Housing pilot project^{1 2 3} that falls under the ‘Suruh’ initiative, National Initiative for Integrated Residential Neighborhoods program led by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning in Oman⁴. The project reflects the government’s vision to provide quality homes to the citizens of Oman at an affordable price⁵ within an integrated neighborhood setting⁶, in line with Oman Vision 2040^{i 7}. Branded as “Urban Oasis”^{8 9}, the project seeks to offer a feasible housing alternative for the eligible citizens in an integrated, safe, and environmentally friendly neighborhood which in turn seeks to achieve social and family stability^{10 11}.

To implement the project’s vision, a master plan was proposed on a site measuring 0.36 square kilometers in the Barka city near the Wali Office¹². The urban design strategies adopted in the master plan revolve focus on the creation of an ecosystem that “balances nature and tradition with modern living standards”¹³. The master plan features housing units surrounded by integrated services such as commercial and recreational facilities, community amenities and public green spaces and streetscapes¹⁴. Additionally, the plan proposes around 1,000 housing units, consisting of 320 apartments units, 120 villas and 475 twin-villas¹⁵, supported by shops, a gym, health centers, a mosque, a children’s play park, gardens, infrastructure and roads¹⁶.

The Hai Al Nassem project is also the first public-private partnership housing project in the Sultanate of Oman¹⁷, where the government provides land and utilities, and the private sector, including consultants, commercial banks, developers, and contractors contribute to the design, funding, implementation and marketing of the project¹⁸. The beneficiaries, who are mainly Omani households, need to apply for land grants from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning¹⁹. On the other hand, the Ministry has signed agreements with local banks that offer attractive financing options to eligible beneficiaries, those listed by the ministry, to purchase a property in the Hai Al Naseem project, with installments for a period of 25 years²⁰.

The project is initiated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, and Adrak Developers LLC, a consortium company, is the developer of the project. The consortium includes MTDI Group, a design consultant who did the master plan, and Insight company as an engineering consultant²¹. The consortium further includes Al Adrak Trading and Contracting Co LLC²², which is implementing the master plan, and New Rotana Enterprises LLC, which is the facility management company for a mandated period. The project has been under implementation over three key phases:

• First Phase [2018-2019]: Finalizing the detailed masterplan²³.
• Second Phase [2019]: The beginning of the construction of the development²⁴.
• Third Phase [2023- Ongoing]: 20 housing unit have been completed with all their basic facilities, and the rest is under implementation²⁵.