Oman to build greenhouses in new self-sustaining agricultural city Al Najd

13,000 residents, desalinated seawater, aquaponics, agrivoltaics Oman to build greenhouses in new self-sustaining agricultural city Al Najd Foster + Partners has unveiled detailed masterplan designs for the Al Najd Agricultural City in Dhofar, southern Oman. "Working in collaboration with Dar Al-Handasah, the Oman-based international multi-disciplinary consultant, the 54 million-square-foot, self-sustaining agricultural development will be built on fertile soil and respond to the region's unique environmental conditions", the designers shared.

© Foster + Partners The project for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning and the Ministry of Agriculture aligns with the Oman Vision 2040. It advances food security and agricultural innovation, supports economic diversification, and will become Oman's first zero-waste agricultural development with 45 square kilometres of agricultural land by 2050.

The city centre features shaded pedestrian routes, integrated public transport connections, cultural and religious buildings, educational and healthcare facilities, as well as retail and leisure spaces, supporting a projected population of 13,000 residents and 6,500 new jobs. The diversified water strategy includes groundwater, collecting runoff water from the mountains via dams, and desalinated seawater, with careful monitoring of irrigation and the selection of water-efficient crops.

Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?

Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.

What is the operator takeaway from this trial?

If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.

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