The second tender package for building exhibition halls of Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre will be opened soon. Several leading companies are vying for the multi-million rial project for building the exhibition halls, which was floated in April.
The winner of the contract will build column-free exhibition halls with a total floor space of 22,000 square meters, which can be divided into five halls.
Further, the infrastructure package for building roads and underground cabling works linked to the convention centre project will be awarded after Eid holidays, Eng Wael bin Ahmed Al Lawati, chief executive officer of Oman Tourism Development Company ( Omran ) told Times of Oman.
"Also, a tender for building the second hotel (a business hotel as part of the convention centre) will also be floated towards the end of the year. Thereafter, there will be continuous packages linked to the development of the convention centre,-? said the Omran chief, on the sidelines of an interactive meeting organised by Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI).
Omran , the investment arm of Oman government for developing tourism infrastructure, is building the convention centre near Seeb to get a slice of the global exhibitions and conventions market. He said the design for first hotel got delayed and therefore, the work on the second hotel is going ahead.
"Tender for the first hotel will be floated by the beginning of next year,-? he added.
"There will be four hotels in total with total room strength of 1,000. There will also be serviced apartments.-?
The development of convention centre will give the Sultanate the ability to host international conferences and events on a massive scale, with a total seating capacity for 10,000 people.
Work is progressing on the first package, with the contractor completing as much as 90 per cent of grading and levelling work, which was the first package.
The first phase of the convention centre will be ready by 2015 and the work on second phase will start at the same time, 'but it all depends on the market condition.'
In fact, Omran plays an important role in the country's long term vision for its tourism sector, the company works across three business streams – development, investment and hospitality management.
Times of Oman
12 August
