02 February 2016
Muscat - Mina Sultan Qaboos Waterfront Company, the subsidiary set up by Omran to oversee the development of Muscat's Port Sultan Qaboos into an upscale waterfront destination, is confident of selling 49 per cent of its equity in the company to investors within the next several weeks. The newly established subsidiary has garnered interest from prospective investors from not only within Oman and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, but internationally as well, according to a top official of Omran, the wholly Omani government-owned tourism and hospitality investment vehicle.

"We are currently in the market to sell 49 per cent of the waterfront company, which is Mina Sultan Qaboos (MSQ) Waterfront Company," said James Wilson, CEO -- Omran.  "In fact, we have significant interest for the 49 per cent. We expect to close the transaction on that in the next couple of weeks. This means that the project will be fully financed and ready to go this year," he added in a presentation to an exclusive gathering of real estate developers hosted by Oman Real Estate Association (ORA) on Monday night. Dr Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry, was the Guest of Honour at the forum, which was also attended by Saif al Shabibi, Minister of Housing, and Talal al Rahbi, Deputy CEO of the Supreme Council for Planning, among a host of other government and property industry executives.

The sumptuous Mina Sultan Qaboos Waterfront Project, which targets an estimated RO 500 million in investments, will feature as many as seven luxurious hotels, 450 retail shops, around 900 residential units, and scores of attractions designed to transform the Muttrah waterfront into a year-round tourism and leisure destination.

Investor interest in this signature development, as well as the equally lavish Medinat Al Irfan Urban City being developed by Omran, has been robust, according to Wilson.

"As of today, we have 35 local, GCC and international investors who want to invest in these two main projects. We have already spoken to about 20 investors from the region, and are about to start signing deals.  There is no shortage of investments, and we are going to start development soon."

Further, with a view to attract investments in the array of tourism, commercial, residential and retail opportunities that are linked to this world-class destination, a marketing suite is proposed to be established on site within the next eight weeks, the CEO stated.

"This will be a place where investors can come and hopefully the general public too will be able to visit us to see the birth of this new project. We expect to start construction on the development by the third quarter of this year covering 280,000 sq metres of development in Phase 1."

Significantly, priority will be given to Omani investors in either project in accordance with the Omani government's directives to this effect, Wilson stressed.

© Oman Daily Observer 2016