Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) has partnered with UAE malls operator Majid Al Futtaim to develop the western area of the country’s largest development – Madinat Al Irfan.
The joint venture will develop a mixed-use community featuring 11,000 residential units including villas, townhouses and apartments, 100,000 sqm of retail space, 700,000 sqm of office space, and cultural and lifestyle offerings.
Spread across over 4.5 million sqm in Muscat, the joint venture project investment value is estimated at OMR5bn ($12.98bn) over 20 years. It is anticipated to create more than 30,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country.
Set for completion in three stages, the first phase of the project is scheduled for completion by 2023. It will see investment in land infrastructure that will enable the development of mixed-use components.
The overall Madinat Al Irfan project is the sultanate’s largest urban development project and is set to contribute to Oman Vision 2040. The eastern area currently being developed by Omran sits alongside Wadi Park and is a multi-use district adjoining the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC). The overall OCEC precinct will include four hotels, a business park, retail shopping areas and residential districts, surrounded by a nature reserve.
When fully complete, Madinat Al Irfan is expected to contribute approximately OMR400m ($1.03bn) to the local economy. The OCEC alone is estimated to create between 15,000 to 18,000 direct and indirect jobs and contribute OMR200m – OMR240m ($623.3m) to the national economy by 2030.
Ali bin Masoud Al-Sunaidy, chairman of Omran said: “The benefits [of the project] to the local economy and tourism are already being realised, but it will also bring great economic and social benefit to the whole of the sultanate.
“The overall scale of the project is unprecedented and directly aligns with the government’s vision to invest in sustainable developments to strengthen and diversify the economy of Oman.”
Madinat Al Irfan is Majid Al Futtaim’s second mixed-use community in Oman following mixed-use development Al Mouj Muscat.
The project includes commercial, retail, hospitality and entertainment offerings. It currently houses 2,000 families and will include 6,000 residential units when completed by 2025.
Alain Bejjani, CEO at Majid Al Futtaim Holdings confirmed that the group had invested OMR705m in Oman, and employs more than 42,000 people in the country.
“We are Oman’s largest non-energy Gulf investor and a long-term contributor to the local economy,” he added.
