MUSCAT -- Two leading regional business houses have joined hands to launch a prestigious integrated real estate project at PDO heights in Qurum. Dubai-based ETA Star Properties and OHI Group yesterday signed an agreement to launch the premium luxury township in Oman. The multi purpose project comprises residential apartments, offices and retail spaces, blending luxurious living with high levels of convenience.
"The RO 400-million project, coming up at one of the city's prime locations, is an important step for ETA Star Properties and OHI Group. The most striking attraction of the project spread out on 128,000 square metres of scenic hilltop is its location," Maqbool Hameed al Saleh, Chairman, OHI Group said. "With prime properties becoming scarce within the city, the project offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for GCC investors," he added.
Behram Divecha, Chief Executive Officer of OHI, said:."We are confident that the demand for this property will be high from both Omani and other GCC citizens." The demand for property is very high in Qurum area as people prefer to reside close to their work places, he added. "The need for upmarket property is growing in Muscat and we are sure that the residential units in this project will be lapped up in no time," Divecha said.
In all, there will be 1,000 apartments, a luxury hotel and commercial complexes complementing the integrated real estate project targeted at the mid and upper income segments among GCC nationals. The project will be launched to the public by October-end. ETA and OHI have a 50:50 partnership in the project which will be designed by a renowned French-Indian architect. Woven together by 23 aesthetically appealing buildings, construction activities are expected to commence in January 2009, slated for completion within 30 months.
Abid Junaid, Executive Director, ETA Star Properties, said: "The property market in the GCC is growing at breakneck speed and Oman is fast catching up with this upswing. "We believe it is an opportune time for us to enter Oman and this joint venture with the OHI Group is part of our vision of building confidence, trust and credibility in all our projects in the real estate market place. We are confident that this project will not only be a landmark in Oman but will also reinforce Oman's potential of becoming a significant international destination."
Hameed al Saleh said: "We are extremely pleased to partner with ETA Star properties as we see strong synergies with the group due to their legacy of excellence and long-standing expertise in the real estate industry. The signing of the agreement at this time signifies that ETA Star will join us every step of the way, in implementation of this landmark project in Oman."
ETA is an established and active construction and real estate player in the Gulf region. Some of the prestigious projects executed by ETA in the United Arab Emirates include the Dubai Marina and Dubai Financial Centre. Though ETA has been present in Oman in the last 30 years being the supplier of Mitsubishi elevators and other equipment, this is the first time the group is entering the real estate field in the Sultanate. All these years ETA has enjoyed a solid and enduring relationship with OHI, Junaid said.
ETA's experience in executing some of the region's notable 'green towers' has been one of the key elements in the two groups coming together to take up this project in Oman, Hameed al Saleh said. "We speak the same language and being neighbours, the synergy of the two groups will produce amazing results," he said, adding that ETA has over 30 years of experience in the construction field. OHI Group has strong presence in the fields of hospitality, contracting, telecommunications, IT solutions, marine, petroleum and energy services.
ETA Ascon Group is primarily a contracting firm in the UAE with expertise ranging from civil construction to electro mechanical, elevator engineering and facilities management. Since its inception in 1973, the firm has completed projects in excess of Dhs 5 billion and numerous landmarks in the Emirates stand testimony to the firm's engineering capabilities. The company is a part of Al Ghurair Group of Companies in the UAE. ETA Star Property is presently developing over 30 million square feet of premium property in countries across the Middle East and South-East Asia, including the UAE, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Turkey.
That translates into thousands of beautiful homes and living communities, as well as world-class business and commercial developments across the globe. With the robust backing of ETA Ascon and Star group, ETA Star Property has the advantage to source all areas of expertise in-house, from conceptualising, designing to construction and property management.
By Ebby Chacko George
© Oman Daily Observer 2008
