Dubai-based shopping mall developer Majid Al Futtaim has announced that it will boost total investment in Oman to OR705 million ($1.83 billion) by 2020.
The company, Oman’s largest non-energy GCC investor, said in a statement that it will increase its investment in Oman by OR515 million by 2020, in addition to the OR190 million invested since 2001.
The retail firm said that its planned investment includes Mall of Oman, City Centre Sohar, My City Centre Sur, the next phase of development at Al Mouj Muscat, and additional investments from other Majid Al Futtaim businesses including Magic Planet, Carrefour and VOX Cinemas.
Majid Al Futtaim said that when it opens in 2020, Mall of Oman will be the largest integrated retail, leisure and entertainment destination in the sultanate.
The super-regional mall will feature 350 outlets in a 137,000 sq m retail space. It will feature ‘firsts’ including Oman’s largest snow-park, with an 8,000 sq m play area, and a Little Explorers edu-tainment centre.
It will also include the sultanate’s first Abercrombie & Fitch and largest VOX Cinemas and Magic Planet as well as a 13,200 sq m Carrefour hypermarket and 292-room hotel. It is estimated that Mall of Oman’s development will generate 29,000 job opportunities.
City Centre Sohar, set to open in 2018, will be home to 100 new retail outlets across 40,000 sq m and will include a 7,400 sq m Carrefour hypermarket, and entertainment options including VOX Cinemas and Magic Planet. The mall will create an estimated 8,000 employment opportunities in Oman.
My City Centre Sur, which will open in 2017, will be Majid Al Futtaim’s first community mall in Oman and will create more than 3,500 job opportunities.
“We have always been pioneering in the Omani market. We are proud to renew our commitment to be the leading GCC investor in the sultanate. We look forward to completing our projects and seeing them deliver more great moments for everyone, everyday,” said Alain Bejjani, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim – Holding.
Majid Al Futtaim said it is also expanding its existing City Centre Qurum shopping mall in Muscat.
The continued investment in Oman’s retail and leisure infrastructure by Majid Al Futtaim supports the country’s National Strategy for Tourism 2040, which targets a 6 percent rise in the contribution of the tourism sector to the GDP and a near doubling of visitor numbers to five million annually.
Follow us on
