LIWA: HH Sayyid Belarab bin Haitham al Said presided over the opening of Liwa Model Residential City in North Al Batinah Governorate as part of a series of events marking the 52nd National Day anniversary, on Monday.

The opening comes within the framework of a strategy embraced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning to set up sustainable model cities across the country.

Based on Royal directive, the city was nicknamed the City of A' Teeb. With an initial 1,300 single and double residential units that are envisioned to be increased to 3,400 in the future, the city can accommodate 30,000 inhabitants.

The opening ceremony included artistic scenes embodying the land and people of the Sultanate of Oman, a visual display showing the facilities and the urban designing of the city which reflects the social, environmental and economic dimensions that suit the requirements of current and futuristic cities. This was followed by the launch of the Model Residential City with its integrated layout.

A' Teeb City in the Wilayat of Liwa in North Al Batinah Governorate, executed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, constitutes a qualitative leap in urban planning and an integrated model of sustainable cities that are consistent with the urban planning strategy that targets to meet the needs and aspirations of the society in accordance with Oman Vision 2040.

Adjoining Al Batinah Expressway, the new city spans 12 million square metres, and will have a capacity to accommodate, once complete, up to 50,000 people.

The construction of Liwa Model Residential City came in implementation of Royal directives issued by the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said stating the relocation of citizens whose properties were affected by the activities of Sohar Port in an integrated residential city complete with services, infrastructure and facilities.

The city encompasses 8 land plots for construction of schools, an integrated health centre. In addition, 13 land plots were earmarked to of the construction of mosques with other facilities such as public councils, accommodation for Imams and schools for teaching the Holy Quran. The city has an integrated road network and infrastructure. With the aim of enhancing the sustainability of the infrastructure within the city, five schools for different educational levels have been completed and operated as well as an integrated health centre, two mosques in the centre of the city. Besides, the city contains 12 playgrounds for practicing sports, a public garden, and two fuel stations.

A total of 7 million sq metres is already operational. This area contains an integrated infrastructure system such as a 106-km road network, 3.313 lamppost , a 232-km long optical fiber network, an electricity grid, water network, sanitary drainage network, among other things.