To enhance the efficiency of public services and environmental monitoring, governments around the world are increasingly incorporating smart technology into their urban planning strategies. Sensors, cameras, and other Internet-connected devices provide an abundance of data points for cities to optimize traffic and transportation systems, utilities, waste disposal, and various community services. Zurich and Oslo are among the global leaders in tech integration, having consistently ranked first and second in the Institute for Management Development’s Smart City Index dating back to 2019, when it was first published.
Led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Middle East is a region rich with smart city initiatives. In 2013, the UAE launched the Smart Dubai project and has since led more than 130 digital transformation initiatives in the city, including the Dubai AI Roadmap and the Happiness Agenda. Several other Middle East countries, including Qatar (Lusail City), Saudi Arabia (King Abdullah Economic City), and Oman (Sultan Haitham City) are building new, master-planned smart cities.
Below is a closer look at Sultan Haitham City, which is being constructed just outside of Oman’s capital, Muscat.
Construction Began in 2024
Oman unveiled its plans for Sultan Haitham City in 2023 and began construction the following year on a 14.8 square-kilometer plot of land in Al-Seeb, just west of Muscat. According to Oman’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, the city will be “an urban expansion” of Muscat, connecting to the capital via a mass transit system.
Scheduled for construction in four phases, Sultan Haitham City isn’t expected to be completed until 2045. The first phase, which includes the development of a 5 square-kilometer city center and six neighborhoods, is likely to continue until 2030, while the second phase will begin in 2028 and conclude in 2034. The third and fourth stages are expected to extend from 2033-40 and 2038-45, respectively.
City to Accommodate 100,000 People
Once completed, Sultan Haitham City will accommodate roughly 100,000 people. It will be about the same size as the Southern California community of Beverly Hills, but will have nearly three times as many residents. Thus, urban planning has been strategic, with a 3.4 kilometer boulevard for pedestrians and public transportation, and 150 kilometers each of neighborhood streets and corridors, the latter of which will be for bicycles and electric scooters. Integral infrastructure, like hospitals, schools, and prayer places, will be centrally located in the downtown core.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), a leading architecture firm based in the US, is developing the smart city. It plans to build 20,000 homes of various sizes and include 2.9 million square meters of “vibrant public space.”
‘Smart’ Technologies
Bernhard Rettig, a senior associate principal with SOM, said that the smart technologies in the master-planned city will “monitor environmental factors such as air quality and water management.” The SOM plans, shared with CNN, also include the use of data-collecting speed sensors and cameras to more effectively manage traffic flow.
Sustainability
Sustainability is also at the core of Sultan Haitham City. It will include various green infrastructure, including solar energy facilities and waste-to-energy plants, and a 7.5 kilometer “dry river,” made to capture water from seasonal flooding.
Design plans also show how Oman intends to enhance comfort for residents, mitigating the effects of high temperatures and humidity by maximizing shade coverage. Temperatures often exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Muscat.
Part of Vision 2040
Plans to incorporate green infrastructure and other features align with Oman Vision 2040, a national framework with the primary goal of economic diversification. Oil and gas currently comprises more than 50 percent of government revenue, but through various initiatives the country has grown other sectors like construction, transport, and manufacturing. Oman also intends to produce 30 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
More specifically, Oman intends to reduce the oil share of its GDP to 16 percent and 8.4 percent by 2010 and 2040, respectively. In 2022, it committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Neither SOM or Oman have specified how much of Sultan Haitham City’s energy would come from renewable sources.
SOM’s Other Work in the Middle East
Sultan Haitham City is far from SOM’s first foray into the Middle East. Most notably, it designed the 829.8 meter-high Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, in Dubai. It also designed Kuwait‘s tallest building, the 414 meter-high Al Hamra Tower, and the 205 meter-high Al Rajhi Bank Tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. More recently, it designed an oceanarium and coral farm in Jeddah that will be a leader in marine conservation. Construction began in 2025.
Beyond its work in the Middle East, SOM has completed roughly 10,000 projects and is known for 7 World Trade Center in New York City, the 185 meter-high AIG Tower in Hong Kong, and Willis Tower, formerly the Sears Tower, in Chicago.