26 June 2016
Muscat - Well-known Omani property investment firm Al Khonji Real Estate & Development LLC (AQAR) yesterday inked deals for the lease of land in Duqm Special Economic Zone for the construction of a mixed use tourism, residential, commercial and retail development with an investment totalling around RO 390 million over multiple phases. Under a usufruct agreement concluded with the Special Economic Zone Authority in Duqm (SEZAD), AQAR acquires a 661,000 sq metre plot for the implementation of the project. The agreement was signed on behalf of the Authority by Yahya bin Abdullah al Jabri, Chairman of the Board of Directors, with Mohammed bin Abdullah al Khonji, Chairman and CEO of AQAR.

Planned for implementation in several phases, the development will include a mix of hotels, villas, residential units, commercial complexes and an amusement park.  A 3-star hotel envisioned in Phase 1 is slated for completion in Q1 2019. According to the master plan, the amusement park will be added by 2020, while health complexes are planned by 2022. Commercial and residential units will be offered to both local and foreign investors in the first such offering by a private developer in the Duqm SEZ, said SEZAD in a statement. As many as 4,000 direct jobs are expected to created when all the phases of the project are implemented.

The agreement is in line with SEZAD's efforts to encourage Omani investors to invest in Duqm as part of the government's wider strategy to diversify income sources and encourage the private sector to play a greater role in the nation's economic development. AQAR is already well-known in Oman's real estate sector, having delivered a number of commercial and real estate projects in the Governorate of Muscat, notably the Rimal 1, Rimal 2 and The Office developments.

© Oman Daily Observer 2016