Muscat Municipal Council reviews central automobile market

Muscat: The Municipal Council Muscat Governorate held its seventh meeting for 2023 under the chairmanship of Sayyid Saud bin Hilal Al Busaidy, Governor of Muscat, Chairman of the Municipal Council on Wednesday reviewed a study on the central automobile market in the Sultanate of Oman, which is the third largest automobile market in the GCC countries.

The total number of registered vehicles is about 1.5 million, of which 80 percent are passenger vehicles, according to the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The Municipal Council viewed a visual presentation on Khazaen Central Car Market in Khazaen Economic City, where the presentation included a number of topics, the most important of which was the introduction to Khazaen Economic City, which is an integrated economic city currently under development in the Wilayat of Barka in South Al Batinah Governorate in partnership between public-private sectors.

The Khazaen Central Car Market project aims to organize the various used car markets in Muscat Governorate and develop them into a commercial, industrial and logistical center that serves the automotive sector, provide consumers with access to a wide range of products and services, maintain high security measures, and create added value for local and international companies.

The meeting included the approval of the Council’s recommendation on draft decision regulating the use of residential buildings for commercial purposes in Muscat Governorate, as the decision aims to address the situation of commercial activities in residential buildings, taking into account existing activities, in a way that contributes to developing the business environment

The decision classifies the streets into approved and unapproved ones, and approved streets mean those in which commercial activities are allowed to be carried out within the residential buildings overlooking them, and specifying the activities permitted to be practiced in those approved streets, which are kindergartens and nurseries, and special centers for the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities (specialized centers). Private schools (first cycle), Holy Qur’an schools, women’s beauty salons, general and specialty medicine clinics, and retail sale of ready-made clothing (women’s clothing boutique).

The Council reviewed the recommendations of the Health and Environmental Affairs Committee on assessing the quality and safety of fish in Muscat Governorate markets, which included addressing the concerned authorities by broadcasting awareness messages through all media platforms regarding the correct handling of the safety of fish and methods of trading in all its stages, from catching it to displaying it to consumers, and the importance of empowering the fishermen and benefit from the advanced fishing initiative with the aim of raising the efficiency of the fish sector. 

It also reviewed the recommendations of the Governorate Development Committee regarding walkway projects in the Muscat Governorate, implemented by the Muscat Municipality in the wilayats of Muscat Governroate, which aim to create modern walkways that are compatible with the natural features surrounding them, and equipped with the necessary facilities. To form a pulsating artery from which vitality flows; It nourishes residential and commercial neighborhoods, and works to revitalize the region with its economic and development dimensions. – ONA