Dhofar’s Sahl Hamran housing project moves into completion phase

SALALAH: One of Dhofar’s long-delayed housing projects is moving into a new completion phase, with Dhofar Municipality now overseeing the remaining works at the Sahl Hamran housing project in the Wilayat of Salalah after years of stalled progress.
A municipal source said the project has been transferred to Dhofar Municipality and retendered, with the new phase focused on completing what remains of the existing development rather than launching a new housing scheme.
The scope includes completion of 240 housing units for citizens, internal roads, sewerage networks, maintenance of buildings constructed in earlier phases, and drainage infrastructure to protect the site from rainwater, seasonal runoff and wadi flows.
A project signboard at the site identifies Dhofar Municipality’s General Directorate of Projects and Technical Affairs as the project owner and Wara Construction Co. – Oman as the contractor. It describes the work as the “completion of construction of 240 housing units for citizens at Hamran – Salalah”, reinforcing the municipality’s position that the current phase is intended to complete the remaining part of a long-standing project.
That distinction is important. Sahl Hamran is not a new housing announcement. It is a delayed public housing file now being brought back into active implementation, with the main challenge shifting from award procedures to visible progress on the ground.
The municipal source said the coming works will prepare the site for actual residential use, not simply finish building structures. This includes completing essential services that had remained pending, particularly roads, sewerage and stormwater drainage.
The drainage component is expected to be a key part of the new phase, given Dhofar’s seasonal climate and the site’s exposure to rainwater accumulation and wadi flows. Earlier delays left some previously built structures exposed for years to humidity, erosion and incomplete infrastructure.
For beneficiary families, the project has carried a social weight far beyond its construction value. It is tied to housing stability, access to basic services and the completion of a public commitment that has remained unresolved for years.
The Observer’s archives show that the project dates back nearly two decades. A previous report said the housing scheme was linked to Royal Directives issued in 2006, while later tendering covered hundreds of housing units before the project was held back by procedural, technical and land-related challenges.
In 2017, the project was described as a RO 15.6 million housing development comprising 300 units over an area of 420,000 square metres. The wider plan at the time included roads, sewerage, a water treatment facility, electricity poles and public amenities.
More recently, tender-related data showed that award procedures had been completed for a RO 4.33 million project covering 240 housing units for citizens in Sahl Hamran, Salalah, as part of a wider package of development and service projects across the Sultanate of Oman.
The difference between the earlier and current figures reflects the present completion scope, which concerns the remaining works now placed under Dhofar Municipality’s supervision.
According to the municipal source, implementation is expected to begin in the near future after completion of the remaining procedures, with the contractor set to start work at the site.
For Dhofar, the importance of Sahl Hamran lies not only in the number of units, but in whether a delayed public project can be technically corrected, properly supervised and delivered with the infrastructure required to make it liveable.