Local developer Omagine has signed an agreement with the Omani government to design, develop, own and operate a $2.5bn (OMR 960mn) tourism and real-estate development project on the outskirts of the country’s capital city, Muscat.
Named “The Omagine Project”, the development plans to integrate cultural, entertainment and residential components, including hotels, commercial buildings, retail establishments and more than two thousand residences.
“We are tremendously pleased with today's signing of the development agreement and are anxious to now begin the development of the Omagine project,” said the company’s president Frank J. Drohan in a statement.
“Our mission is to develop, own and operate innovative tourism projects with components that are thematically imbued with culturally aware, historically faithful, and scientifically accurate entertainment experiences. We design the tourism elements to provide modern, stylish and entertaining experiences while highlighting the world's great cultures, art, music, heritage, science and philosophy. We expect the Omagine project to be the archetype for our future projects in the Middle East and North Africa,” he added.
The Omagine Project will be developed on 1mn m² of beachfront land facing the Gulf of Oman just west of Muscat and approximately 9.5km from Muscat International Airport.
Omagine LLC, which owns the project, is a 60% owned subsidiary of Omagine Inc. The remaining 40% is owned by the office of Royal Court Affairs (RCA), which owns 25%, and two subsidiaries of Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCIC), which collectively own 15%.
Oman’s ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, owned the property on which the project is set to be built but transferred the land to the government for the specific purpose of developing it into the Omagine project.
Construction Week
8 October
