Geneva: The Sultanate of Oman has achieved a prestigious international milestone by securing first place globally in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2026 awards under the “E-Environment” category.
The award was granted for its project titled “Enhancing Environmental Sustainability and Energy Efficiency through Smart Street Lighting,” with Musandam Governorate receiving the global championship trophy this year at the competition organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations agency.
The award ceremony for the governorate took place during the WSIS Forum, which is currently underway at the Palexpo centre in Geneva.
The award-winning “Smart Lighting” project in Musandam Governorate is based on the smart city concept, utilizing Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to connect street lighting poles to a central smart platform. This enables remote monitoring, control, and management of the lighting network. The system allows for real-time tracking of the status of the poles, proactive fault detection, management of operation and shutdown schedules, and energy consumption analysis, all of which contribute to increasing operational efficiency and improving the level of services provided to the community.
The project aims to enhance environmental sustainability by conserving electricity consumption and reducing carbon emissions resulting from the operation of traditional lighting networks. Additionally, it aims to lower operational and maintenance costs, improve response time to faults, and extend the operational lifespan of the lighting network components. The project also provides accurate data and performance indicators that assist decision-makers in planning and managing government assets with greater efficiency.
Dr. Ali bin Amer Al Shidhani, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology for Communications and Information Technology explained that this win for an Omani project, which provides digital solutions in the field of sustainable energy and environmental conservation, aligns with many initiatives being implemented by the Sultanate of Oman regarding green data centers, the Green AI Alliance, and green computing. He emphasized that the Sultanate of Oman always extends a hand of cooperation to everyone to build a sustainable digital economy.
For his part, Sheikh Abdulaziz Ahmed Al Hum Al Mayasi, Wali of Dibba and Director of the Digital Transformation Program in Musandam Governorate, indicated that this win represents a strategic success for the governorate in employing innovation and modern technologies to serve the community and achieve sustainable development goals. He commended the tireless and sincere efforts exerted by the governorate in leading digital transformation initiatives.
He added that this achievement of first place for 2026 complements and cements the global success achieved by the project at last year’s summit (2025), when it was recognised as one of the best scalable and sustainable projects. This aligns with the strategic directions of Oman Vision 2040.
On her part, Amna Mohammed Al Shehhi, Director of the IT Department at the General Directorate of Administrative and Financial Affairs in Musandam Governorate, stated that the Smart Lighting project represents a pioneering step within the governorate’s continuous efforts for digital transformation, as it relies on IoT technologies to connect lighting poles to a central smart platform that allows for remote monitoring, control, and network management.
The system enables real-time monitoring of the poles’ status and proactive detection of faults to ensure rapid response, alongside analysing energy consumption and managing operating schedules automatically. This provides decision-makers with precise data for effective management of government assets.
She added that, on both environmental and economic levels, the project achieves a package of tangible strategic goals, most notably enhancing environmental sustainability by reducing carbon emissions generated from traditional operations and significantly rationalising electricity consumption. It also contributes effectively to reducing operating and maintenance expenses and extending the operational lifespan of the lighting network components, which enhances the efficiency of public spending.
Al Shehhi affirmed that “this global win reflects the ability of national talents in Musandam Governorate to innovate and implement quality projects with tangible local and international impact to serve the community. This achievement comes as a culmination of efforts that are fully aligned with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040, which strives with steady steps to enhance the path of digital transformation, raise the efficiency of resource use, and adopt smart solutions to build more sustainable and developed Omani cities.”