Preparations in Full Swing for 2nd edition Al Dhahirah Tourism Festival 2024

Ibri: Al Dhahirah Governorate has achieved achievements and service projects in various health and educational fields that have contributed to achieving comprehensive and sustainable development in the governorate’s wilayats to meet the aspirations and hopes of citizens and residents in the Sultanate of Oman.

His Excellency Najib bin Ali Al Rawas, Governor of Al Dhahirah, said that November 18th is the glorious Eid of the Sultanate of Oman, in which Omanis recall the achievements of the past year and seek to achieve more in the coming years under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said (may God protect and preserve him).

The Omani Renaissance has achieved accomplishments on all levels over the past 54 years, and the Omani citizen was its axis and main goal in all fields to enable him to perform his assigned role efficiently and competently.

He added that Al Dhahirah Governorate has witnessed comprehensive development during the era of the renewed Renaissance and has received attention in various sectors in its three Wilayats (Ibri, Yanqul and Dhank), and has been keen to direct all capabilities to achieve the goals assigned to it with a high level of efficiency in accordance with the directives of Oman Vision 2040 and to continue the journey with more giving and giving through the efforts of its good arms to achieve the goals that every citizen and resident aspires to so that our beloved Oman may enjoy goodness, progress and prosperity.

His Excellency stated that Al Dhahirah Governorate has prepared an annual plan to implement a number of development projects according to the priority of the needs of each wilayat separately, which are financed through the approved budget allocated to the governorate. During this year 2024, a number of development projects were signed, such as the implementation of Yanqul and Dhank views with an area of ​​(65,000 square meters) for each and a total cost of (4 million Omani riyals), and the Science and Innovation Center project in the Wilayat of Ibri with a total value of (1.5 million Omani riyals) with joint financing with OQ Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company and Oman Oil Development Company, and a partnership agreement with the Oman Towers Company to design and implement decorated communications towers, and pave a number of internal roads at a cost exceeding (7 million Omani riyals) distributed over the Wilayat of Ibri with (60 km), the Wilayat of Yanqul with (25 km) and the Wilayat of Dhank with (25 km), in addition to maintenance projects for internal roads damaged by the tropical condition (Al Mutair Depression) in April 2024 in the governorate’s wilayats at a cost of More than (2.7 million Omani riyals).

He explained that the governorate is working to enhance digital transformation and seek to develop the services it provides through a number of projects in this field by signing a number of agreements for business continuity and developing the technical infrastructure within the governorate’s strategy to support cooperation with the private sector and develop services provided to the local community.

His Excellency the Governor stressed the continuation of preparations for the second edition of the Al Dhahirah Tourism Festival for the year 2025, in addition to the tender for consultancy services for the Youth Center in the Wilayat of Ibri and the project to establish an Ibri slaughterhouse. Work is currently underway in the awarding procedures stage, in addition to the Ibri Public Park project, the implementation tender of which will be issued before the end of this year. He is currently preparing consultancy studies for the Ibri View Project, which won the award for the best proposed development project from the governorates competition in the second edition for the year 2024.

He said that there are many development and service projects underway within the 2023-2024 plan, such as internal road paving and maintenance projects, a 16 km paving project distributed across the governorate’s wilayats, a 4.5 km dual carriageway and development project for the commercial area in Dhank, a health walkway project in Al Nahda district in Ibri with a completion rate of more than (75%), a health walkway project in Hamra Al Duru’, and a Ibri Yard project with a completion rate exceeding (40%).

He explained that the most prominent projects that have been completed include paving and maintaining a number of internal roads in residential, commercial and industrial plans, installing lighting poles in the governorate’s states, adding complementary facilities to a number of gardens, parks and healthy walking areas, developing the Friday Market in Yanqul State, and launching the governorate’s electronic portal regarding accelerating digital transformation and employing modern technologies in providing work and developing services.

Regarding the health sector, Dr. Ahmed bin Saeed Al Kalbani, Director General of Health Services in Al Dhahirah Governorate, pointed out that the governorate has many government health institutions that provide primary and secondary health care, such as Ibri Hospital and Yanqul Hospital, in addition to Ibri Health Complex and 16 health centers distributed across the governorate’s three wilayats, explaining that the health sector in Al Dhahirah Governorate is in continuous development to meet the needs of society.

He said that based on the health indicators on which these needs are based, two kidney medicine units were added to Ibri Hospital and Yanqul Hospital during the past period with the aim of improving the level of health services in the state and facilitating the access of patients and visitors to places where the service is provided, in addition to establishing accident and emergency units in the governorate’s states to enhance the medical response in the governorate.

He added that during this year, a protein dialysis unit was established in Ibri Hospital, work was done to equip the breast cancer screening unit in the hospital, and an agreement was signed to establish a kidney dialysis unit in Dhank Health Center.

The Ministry of Health is also seeking during this year to complete the procedures for implementing tenders to establish a new hospital in Yanqul Wilayat and to begin establishing the Al-Duraiz Health Center. Al-Kalbani explained that these projects include many preventive programs that are carried out periodically and care for all age groups, from children to the elderly.

These programs work to spread awareness among members of society by holding community events or broadcasting information via social media programs.

Regarding the roads and transportation sector in Al Dhahirah Governorate, Eng. Mahmoud bin Saif Al Riyami, Director of the Roads Department in Al Dhahirah Governorate, stressed the importance of the efforts made by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology to develop and maintain the infrastructure of the road network in the governorate in a way that supports the level of safety, raises the efficiency of transportation and contributes to the economic and social development of the local community.

He said that work is proceeding at a good pace on asphalt and dirt road maintenance projects in the various governorate states, as many roads damaged by weather conditions and heavy traffic have been maintained so far. These works include repaving damaged asphalt roads, treating cracks and potholes, maintaining road shoulders, and creating side protections for the safety of road users. Routine monthly maintenance is carried out on roads with a length of 1,923 km for all governorate states.

He added that there are many works that the department is constantly carrying out, including what was accomplished during this year, such as repairs to the iron barriers on the roads with a length of about 3122 meters, and adding 93 guidance signs on the governorate’s road paths, in addition to asphalt repairs and ground paints for the roads, which amounted to about 43117 square meters.

He explained that additional work has begun on the Ibri-Yanqul road, as the project aims to expand it, improve traffic flow, and add traffic safety elements, such as road signs. This project will reduce the rate of traffic accidents in the area and provide a safe road for residents and users.

He stressed that there are projects under study that aim to improve the road infrastructure, taking into account the opinions and needs of the local community, and that work on these projects will be done according to the specified priorities after the completion of the technical and engineering analysis and studies.

In the education sector, the number of government schools in Al Dhahirah Governorate reached 83 schools distributed across the governorate’s various wilayats, with a teaching staff of 3,915 male and female teachers, in addition to 759 members of the technical and administrative staff working to enhance the fields of education and scientific research among students.

At the economic and investment levels, Ibri Industrial City, which is equipped with basic services and affiliated to the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn), is an integrated environment for the industrial and logistics sector in Al Dhahirah Governorate in particular and the Sultanate of Oman in general.

It provides the appropriate environment for the private sector to carry out various industrial, commercial and service activities in one integrated place.

In addition, Al Dhahirah Governorate is distinguished by many components in a number of economic activities, especially industries related to marble, chrome and logistics. The total area of ​​the industrial city is (10) million square meters. Madayn has started the process of developing and preparing the infrastructure for the first phase with an area of ​​(3) three million square meters, and the project was inaugurated early this year.

The Abra Industrial City is distinguished by its strategic location, as it is located near the main road leading to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 150 km from the Rub Al Khali port and 180 km from the Hafeet port with the United Arab Emirates. As a result of its proximity to two border ports, it gives the industrial city a high advantage to be a nucleus for manufacturing, a center for logistics services and a point of connection between the Sultanate of Oman and these countries, which enhances the volume of trade exchange.

The total volume of investments in the Ibri Industrial City until the end of September 2024 AD amounted to about 18,271,000 Omani riyals, and the total number of new projects amounted to 15 projects established on an area of ​​178,941 square meters.

As for the private sector in Al Dhahirah Governorate, the branch of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Al Dhahirah Governorate provided this year a package of assistance and initiatives to enhance the fields of entrepreneurship in the governorate, as the branch is implementing an initiative to establish 50 projects for job seekers from the governorate’s people within the framework of encouraging the trend towards self-employment and entrepreneurship.

The Chamber’s branch is also working on a number of initiatives to support business and project owners, such as the marketing outlets initiative, which provides free sales and marketing outlets for business owners. Thirty-five institutions have benefited from this initiative, in addition to organizing Omani products exhibitions that seek to promote local industries and products in order to advance the small and medium enterprises sector.

In the agricultural, livestock and water resources sector, the General Directorate of Agricultural Wealth and Water Resources in Al Dhahirah Governorate seeks to enhance agricultural, livestock and water productivity by implementing a set of projects and programs that aim to improve resources and food security.

The Directorate has achieved remarkable achievements in the fields of crop cultivation, livestock care, and water management, which contributes to supporting farmers and achieving sustainable development in accordance with Oman Vision 2040.

In the field of wheat cultivation, Al Dhahirah Governorate achieved third place in production at the level of the governorates of the Sultanate of Oman, as the production quantity during the agricultural season 2023-2024 reached about 249 tons from a cultivated area of ​​245 acres.

The directorate is keen to provide improved wheat seeds with high productivity to farmers, follow up on their fields, provide guidance, and harvesting machines. The directorate also works to encourage the cultivation of onions and garlic through guidance programs aimed at improving their productivity.

The data indicates that the total number of agricultural and animal holdings in the governorate until the end of September 2024 amounted to 13,832 holdings, of which 10,633 were agricultural and 3,199 were animal.

The General Directorate of Agricultural Wealth and Water Resources in Al Dhahirah Governorate continues this year to implement the maintenance and rehabilitation project of (100) falaj in the various wilayats of the governorate at a cost of (848,434) Omani riyals. The maintenance of 44 falaj has been completed, in addition to implementing dam projects of various types due to their importance in feeding the underground reservoir. Work is currently underway to build 10 private dams and maintain 4 dams.

On the other hand, Ali bin Khamis Al Sudairy, Assistant Director of the Department of Heritage and Tourism in Al Dhahirah Governorate, indicated that the heritage and tourism sectors in Al Dhahirah Governorate witnessed remarkable development and growth in 2024 in terms of statistical data and indicators, as the number of hotel establishments increased by 45% compared to last year, reaching 48 hotel establishments compared to 33 establishments in 2023.

The growth included various types of tourism establishments, such as hotels, whose number increased by 40%, guest houses, which recorded the highest growth rate of 83%, and green lodges by 55%. He stated that the number of guests of hotel establishments until September 2024 witnessed an increase to reach 10,976 guests, an increase of 13 compared to the same period last year.

In addition, the percentage of tourism revenues collected from the sector increased by 100% compared to 2023, which reflects the activity of the tourism movement in the governorate.

In the heritage sector, he explained that the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism has carried out a number of archaeological and exploratory surveys and excavations in cooperation with a number of international missions and universities from Poland, France, and the United States of America in several prominent archaeological sites in various governorates. These surveys and excavations resulted in the discovery of archaeological treasures dating back to different time periods.

In addition, experts and specialists were hosted to study various artifacts of metals, pottery, human and animal bones. Service projects are also being implemented to enhance tourism aspects in the governorate, such as establishing public service facilities in Al-Iraqi Fort to serve visitors and visiting tourists, and awarding several tenders to maintain and restore a number of historical landmarks in the governorate, which contributes to attracting more visitors and enhancing the cultural identity of the governorate.

Regarding the environmental aspect, Fahd bin Saeed Al Nasseri, Director of the Environment Authority in Al Dhahirah Governorate, indicated that the Environment Authority seeks to adopt policies to protect, preserve and manage biodiversity to ensure the safety and sustainability of wildlife by implementing a series of projects that serve this policy and objectives.

He explained that the Environment Department in the governorate has implemented several environmental projects and studies, including a project to study migratory bird species, which aims to verify the extent to which these birds can adapt to the governorate’s environment, in addition to the survey conducted by observers through foot patrols and walking in the survey areas.

He explained that the Environment Department implemented a project to survey the vegetation cover for numbers and species in the Wilayat of Ibri this year, where the survey showed the unique diversity in vegetation cover and the density of trees in the mountainous environment and other environments as a result of the recent rains in the governorate, which increased the density and area of ​​vegetation cover, as it is hoped that the project will contribute to preserving the vegetation cover and predicting the future spread of wild trees in the Wilayat in order to adopt policies to preserve the vegetation cover, rehabilitate degraded areas and combat desertification.

She stated that it is making continuous efforts to support and make the national initiative to plant 10 million wild trees in the Sultanate of Oman a success, and nearly one million diverse seeds such as Ghaf, Sidr and Samr have been planted since the beginning of 2024 in order to increase the vegetation cover and implement initiatives and projects to enhance ecosystems and preserve their natural resources.

On the other hand, the Consumer Protection Authority makes continuous efforts to protect the consumer and his rights in various commercial transactions and implement awareness campaigns and lectures to raise community awareness of consumer rights and the laws that protect citizens and residents in the purchase of various goods.

The General Directorate of Social Development in Al Dhahirah Governorate also seeks to provide social care, awareness, family protection and social care services to various segments of society.

Hasib bin Zahran Al Amri, Director General of Social Development in Al Dhahirah Governorate, explained that the Ministry of Social Development, represented by the General Directorate of Social Development in Al Dhahirah Governorate, has given its usual attention to developing the family, protecting it and maintaining its cohesion.

This can only be achieved through social programs and services provided by the Directorate, such as family guidance and counseling services, in addition to providing projects and programs for the purpose of caring for childhood and motherhood, building women’s capacities and empowering their active role in society and areas of protection for the family and child.