Muscat: The Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) announced today the launch of Omap Platform, being a digital portal for integrated geographical maps that include all-inclusive data of masterplans for the special economic zones, free zones, and industrial cities overseen by OPAZ. This platform enables its users to access detailed services and information of the zones through the available digital maps and tools. Omap marks a first serving the online land allocation service that was launched earlier by OPAZ.    

Introducing Omap Platform complements OPAZ’s efforts to improve the quality of services provided to investors by facilitating and accelerating procedures, reducing time and efforts, offering opportunities for all investors and beneficiaries, and ensuring that plans do not overlap. The Platform guarantees easy access to comprehensive and accurate spatial information through detailed interactive maps for all the zones, as well as identifying the vacant lands for investment and its associated economic activities.

This Platform aims to promote the investment opportunities in these zones within and outside the Sultanate of Oman, provide information and spatial systems that support the decision-making process for investors, and enable them to use modern technologies in urban planning processes and future expansion with the possibility of printing maps.

Speaking on the occasion, Najya bint Sultan Al Hajri, Section Head of Geographical Information System (GIS), pointed out, “Omap Platform provides a range of features, including the search for specific locations or plots of land for investment and providing detailed information about key landmarks and facilities such as hospitals, restaurants, schools, stores and hotels, which could be found in the nearby. Further, users can get the details of lands by its type, usufruct rates, location coordinates, size, and the nearby utilities such as electricity, telecommunications, water, and public and private transportation networks. Moreover, the Platform makes it possible for users to measure the distance between different locations and how far they are from the transportation networks concerned with shipping goods and products to foreign markets”.    

“The Platform provides those Geographic Information System (GIS) enthusiasts the opportunity to obtain the latest satellite visuals of lands and sites, allowing them the ability to add information, upload pictures, and coordinates for the various sites in OPAZ affiliated zones. In addition, Omap familiarises the users with the locations dedicated for drones and the restricted areas for flying drones. As an additional future feature, a new service for photographing projects, based on the investor’s request, will be included in the Platform, she further added.

Al Hajri explained that the Platform is equipped by a set of tools that support users, bringing a measurement tool, a planning, drawing and writing on maps tool, a tool for searching for nearby services, a tool for creating a cadastral drawing (Krooki), a tool for printing maps, and a site selection tool by which users can record the coordinates digitally, and the System will validate the location on maps in an Interactive way.  

On the other hand, the Platform brings a number of advantages to the users, such as identifying various biodiversity sites, reserve sites, tourist attractions, camping sites, and others. In addition, the Platform’s users can get an insight on the weather and climate conditions as it is connected to climate monitoring stations’ systems in the zones. Likewise, the Platform provides information related to soil tests for different sites in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm, being a platform attracting future and artificial intelligence technologies.   

It is worth noting that Omap Platform will contribute to promoting special economic zones, free zones, industrial cities and its investment opportunities through the advantages it provides. Omap ensures an easy access to information and various geographical data as well as providing unified electronic services at lower costs. It will also serve developing and enriching urban planning and development procedures and promote the establishment of smart digital economic cities.

Therefore, all interested users can access the Omap System through the website of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) (https://www.opaz.gov.om) from anywhere worldwide.