Eng. Jaber Al Siyadi, project manager, Ras Al Hamra development shares details of the exciting new developments taking place at Ras Al Hamra project and the key milestones achieved so far. excerpts of the conversation.

Tell us about the Ras Al Hamra Development Project

Ras Al Hamra development project started in 2010 with the vision to reshape the area and develop it into a modern and sustainable city. The key objective has been to build world-class residential and recreational facilities in Oman to create a value proposition for the Petroleum  Development  Oman (PDO) employees,  contribute towards tourism in the country and, preserve and enhance the natural beauty of the area.

As per the master plan, the project has been divided into six phases including five phases for residential scope and one phase for commercial area. We have almost completed the first two phases of the residential development. So far almost 563 residential units including various kinds of villas, townhouses, and apartments have been completed and occupied. We have also developed several community facilities including a golf club, Mosque, and School, etc. in addition to landscaping and creating more recreational facilities as part of our efforts to create an ideal sustainable community living.

What are your plans for the next phases of development?

We are now embarking on the next three phases of development and expect to finish the remaining scope of work in the next  2-3 years depending upon the market conditions and Covid-19 restrictions. We are working on developing additional 508 residential units including different villas, townhouses, and terrace houses. Apart from this, we are also working on further developing the recreational facilities,  and building a commercial complex and a new multipurpose hall apart from working on infrastructure works.

Moving to commercial development, it will come up at the entry point of the Ras Al Hamra project. We are currently evaluating the types of facilities that will finally be a part of it. It may comprise a hypermarket, shops, offices, food outlets, etc.

The concept design is ready. This commercial complex will be developed in partnership with an external investor with whom we are currently working on the final terms of the agreement. We expect to finalize the partnership this year. The project is expected to go into the construction stage probably by the second quarter of 2022 and be completed in the next 3-4 years depending upon the market environment. This project comes under phase six of the overall Ras Al Hamra development.

Oman Vision 2040 is based on innovation, sustainability, and technology. tell us about how Ras Al Hamra aligns with the principles of Vision 2040 on these parameters.

Ras Al Hamra’s development project is fully aligned with His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik’s Vision 2040 to create an economy and society based on sustainability, technology, and innovation. We endeavor to build and maintain a world-class integrated community living using the latest technologies, following efficiency standards, in perfect harmony with nature and delivering lasting economic benefits to the Sultanate. From Ras Al  Hamra’s perspective,  we look at sustainability on three factors – environment, social and economic.

On the environment side, various elements of the development are designed to ensure the preservation of nature, energy and water efficiency, and optimal resource management. We are using alternative energy resources like renewables (solar energy) in the residential units to achieve low energy consumption. All the new 508 new residential units are planned to be installed with rooftop solar panels. We

are using water-saving systems, deploying recycling systems for example using treated water for irrigation and best-in-class waste management practices. All our developments are based on the principles of maintaining the topography of the area and natural habitat. We have also increased the landscaping to lower carbon emissions.

We have set targets for environmental sustainability on various parameters and we have achieved and maintained them successfully.  In fact, we strive to achieve carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050 following global cues. Our unstinted commitment to sustainability and related

achievements in compliance with international standards have been certified by LEED, the globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership. Our school has been ‘LEED for Building’ certified at the Silver level.  Recently, we also obtained ‘LEED for Home’ Platinum certification, the highest level in its category. We have also applied for ‘LEED for Community’ certification for our master plan. It is currently under evaluation.

In terms of social sustainability, we aim to build a thriving unique community, a benchmark for others

to follow. We are not in the business of just making buildings. We are focusing on ensuring integrating amenities like transportation, pathways for people movements, parks, recreation facilities, etc. for a healthy and safe living community in harmony with nature.  Through the entire development, we are creating vast opportunities for economic activities contributing to the growth of national GDP and In-Country Value (ICV) generation.

We are working towards making Ras Al Hamra a smart city using a range of new digital technologies and innovations including IoT, automation, and 3D printing. We are collaborating with different specialist companies to develop a complete solution for the smart city platform and some of the applications are under the pilot to ensure a bottom-up approach is achieved to build new systems and applications to meet the city objectives in terms of operational efficiency and community

innovation for better use of services. The concept design has already been completed and we are currently working on developing a complete strategy to execute the project.

We are embarking on a pilot project using 3D  printing in construction for R&D purposes. We are going to make a  new small building using 3D printed construction material.

The contract has been awarded to an Omani firm specializing in 3D printing and the work on it is expected to start soon.

Kindly share the main achievements of the project on the ICV front?

ICV is one of the key pillars for Ras AlHamra, in alignment with PDO’s
commitment to the nation. At Ras AlHamra, we focus on five areas to generate ICV – Omanisation, skills enhancement of national talent, procurement of local products services, and supporting SMEs. A high percentage of key positions in various departments says engineering, HSE, and administration in the project are occupied by Omanis and they are
making a very significant contribution to the development. Weare also making concerted efforts to employ more and more Omanis in technical positions at junior levels also. We have developed and implemented several in-site training programs that continue to enhance the skills of our national workforce at various levels.

We procure almost 60-70 percent of our requirements for products locally. The building materials such as autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC), cement, sanitaryware, tiles, pipes, doors, windows, paints, HVAC, electrical fittings, etc. are mainly procured locally to promote local manufacturers and Omani companies. We also encourage them to upgrade their standards to meet our quality parameters and it also helps them to move up in the value chain and become more competitive in the other markets. All our construction contractors are Omani companies and we also encourage and mandate using SMEs
for subcontracting jobs

You were appointed as the Project Manager at a very critical stage with the COVID-19 pandemic beginning to spread in the sultanate. What are the challenges you faced due to the pandemic especially on the HSE front as Ras Al Hamra has been known for maintaining very high HSE standards?

Covid-19 pandemic has been the biggest challenge for the human kind
currently and all aspects of our lives have been severely impacted. At the Ras Al Hamra development project, we have also faced numerous challenges due to the pandemic but we have proactively worked to overcome them or minimize the impact. Despite the lockdown, movement restrictions, supply chain disruption or slowdown, remote working, health hazards, and strict adherence to Covid-19 norms, we managed to meet most of our targets in deliveries. Yes, like many other projects, we are also revisiting our plans and completion targets for future developments but we expect to broadly stay on course. At Ras Al Hamra, we have zero targets plan as part of PDO HSE policy and we strictly adhere to it.

The safety and welfare of our people are paramount to us. Right at the start of the Covid-19  pandemic,  we established a core team to collaborate with our contractors and meet every week to ensure Covid-19 protocols and guidelines’ compliance is strictly
followed and reported. We ensured the achievement of Covid-19 compliance metrics is obtained not just onsite but at contractors’ camps also. As a result, zero fatality has been reported on account of Covid-19, and those who were Covid-19 infected recovered satisfactorily. We are thankful to our internal teams and contractors for their co-operation and vigilance in overcoming any health risks related to the pandemic and
delivering on expected lines. We are working with our contractors to ensure the vaccination of their employees.