Massive tourism hub at a cost of OMR390m coming up in Duqm

Muscat: Permission to build a massive tourism hub with hotels, residential and commercial complexes and an amusement park has been granted to Al Khonji Real Estate and Development in Duqm by Special Economic Zone Authority in Duqm (Sezad).
The usufruct (a joint property) agreement was signed, in the name of the Authority, by Yahya bin Abdullah Al Jabri, chairman of the Board of Directors, and Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Khonji, chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Al Khonji Real Estate.
The signing of this agreement comes as a part of Sezad´s efforts to encourage Omani investors to invest within the Sultanate, and as part of ongoing efforts by the government to diversify the nation’s sources of income and identify rewarding investment opportunities within the nation’s private sector.
According to the agreement, Al Khonji Real Estate was granted the usufruct right to develop a land area of approximately 661,000 square metres to build a tourist and real estate project to be executed in numerous phases, at an approximate cost of OMR390 million, and it is expected that the project will create almost 4,000 direct jobs when it is completed.
The project consists of many phases and, according to the company´s statement, the first phase will begin with the construction of a 3-star hotel, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019.
The project also includes the construction of a commercial complex, villas and residential units, which would be offered to both local and foreign investors, becoming the first project with units offered for sale in the Special Economic Zone in Duqm.
According to the master plan, the amusement park will be completed by 2020 and the health complexes by 2022.
Al-Khonji Real Estate stood out in recent years as one of the leading Omani companies in the real estate sector, and has developed various commercial and real estate complexes in the Governorate of Muscat,the most notable being “Rimal 1” , “Rimal 2” and “The Office”.
The tourist industry is considered one of the nation’s key sectors,and is the focus of the Special Economic Zone Authority in Duqm, due to the area’s moderate temperatures during the summer. In the past few years, many usufruct agreements were signed to build a number of tourist projects in the area facing the Arabian Sea.