MUSCAT -- Omran, the Sultanate's premier tourism-related investment, development and management company, is all set to open Duqm Crowne Plaza Hotel this year, in addition to Duqm City Hotel in April. Abdul Wahid al Farsi, VP Corporate Affairs, Omran, told the Observer that "Omran's total investment for the two hotels amounts to around RO 50 million."
The 4-star Duqm Crowne Plaza Hotel is expected to welcome its first guests by end of the year and will be managed by parent company, the InterContinental Hotels Group. The property will feature 213 rooms which will include 16 junior suites. He said the strategy to develop a 4-star hotel at Duqm, Oman's fastest growing new city close to the new sea harbour, airport and industrial zone is to support it to become a city in its own right like Sohar; giving employment to local communities.
With its strategic location between Muscat and Salalah and additionally in the Indian Ocean, Duqm has the potential to take away the risks of oil and gas shipment compared to ports located in the Straits of Hormuz. The Duqm site which is home to the upcoming Crowne Plaza Hotel, Omran's sixth hotel project in the Sultanate, in October 2011 commemorated the completion of one million man hours without lost-time injury within 331 days of construction.
Omran is mandated by the government to deliver major projects and manage tourism assets and investments. This is in line with the government's vision of positioning tourism as a major economic driver of the future and as a generator of employment. Omran is the master-planner and developer for a range of tourism-related projects in Oman. These include Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, Muscat City Hotels, Fort Hotel, Al Jabal al Akhdar Hotel, Khasab Hotel, Duqm Crowne Plaza and Duqm City Hotel.
As part of its role to develop the tourism industry, Omran seeks and initiates a wide range of joint venture projects, acting as the catalyst for investment in tourism developments by national and international partners. Currently, Omran has more than 20 joint venture projects at different stages of development throughout the Sultanate. Some of these are Jabal As Sifah, Salalah Beach, As Sawdah Island, Ras al Hadd, Yiti Resort, Duqm Frontier Town, Bandar Jissah and Al Baleed Resort.
© Oman Daily Observer 2012
