Omran launches $390m Phase 1 of Muscat waterfront project
The Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) has launched the phase one of the Mina Al Sultan Qaboos Waterfront Project which is expected to be completed by 2020, and will transform the commercial Port Sultan Qaboos area into a major tourist hub.
The mixed use development will include business and residential zones, a mall, six hotels (including three, four and five star), recreation amenities, tourist attractions, as well as docking facilities for cruise liners and yachts.
The master development plan was conceptualised in 2015, with significant inputs received from private sector investors keen to capitalize on the tourism and hospitality opportunities presented by the grand Waterfront scheme. The project will be developed over four separate phases.
James Wilson, CEO of Omran, said: Constructing this project is a challenging proposition but the success of that endeavor rests on how the project is established from the outset. Much of the architectural design will be concerned with providing low energy sustainable solutions that draw inspiration from the rich architectural and cultural traditions of the Sultanate of Oman.
Scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2017, The Souq Al Mina will be a core public aspect of the development which will become home for over 80 local SMEs, shops, restaurants and cafes.
The Souq will be situated alongside a still functioning harbour for cruise ships and yachts, which will celebrate Omans rich cultural heritage with contemporary aesthetics.
Blizzard Brothers has been appointed to manage the first construction activity of Souq Al Mina. Omran also announced it has appointed Omani company HD23, a joint venture with Nadia Al Lawati, Architect and Owner of 23 Degrees North, and Harper Downie, as lead consultants and master planners.
Foster and Partners and Hoehler and Al Salmy have been appointed as architectural consultants to the development.
Omran has also reached an agreement with the first investor for the project to develop a four star hotel in proximity to the Muttrah fish market.
