Construction of $1bln Quriyat ITC project in Oman to begin soon

Speaking to Muscat Daily about their new projects, Eng Abdul Rahman Barham, CEO of Al Madina Real Estate said, “We are currently working on a number of projects. We are offering premises for retailers and working on some residential projects as well. Works on some hotel projects are going well and we are hopeful that our ‘Shaden Al Hail’ hotel could be opened for public as soon as early next year.”

Talking about Quriyat ITC project, Barham said the design and other formalities related to the company’s first ITC project have been completed, adding, “We are going to start the construction work soon. There is a tremendous tourism potential in that area, and so far this location has been underserviced.”

Barham said, “This (Quriyat ITC) will be the first integrated tourism complex project to come up in the east of Muscat. Total investments envisaged in the project, which will be developed in multiple stages spanning over a period of 15 years, is around US$1bn. We are opting for a mix of debt and equity to finance the project.”

Al Madina Real Estate’s ITC project in Quriyat comprises a golf course, a number of freehold residential units, a water park, and three star-category hotels. Total area of the new project is around 1.3mn square meters. “In the first phase, we are constructing a 150 rooms four-star hotel along with some ancillary units. If everything goes as per the plan, we are going to start the work in the next month or the month after that,” Barham said.

On the much-talked slowdown in consumer demand in real estate, he said, “We have witnessed a slowdown in demand but it has not resulted in a complete halt of operations. We have to adapt to the market conditions. Slowdown is evident, no one can deny it, but it is still manageable.”