Oman's Seeb beachfront to be transformed into tourist hub over next five years

Muscat: Seeb will be transformed over the next five years to make it the tourist hub of Muscat, according to developers.
The City Walk, Seeb will be completed within five years, developers said, as Ahmed bin Nasser Al Mihrizi, Minister of Tourism, signed an agreement for the project with Orascom Development Holding AG, the largest stakeholder of Muriya.
The OMR60-OMR 80 million beachfront commercial city complex, spanning 47,499 square metres, will include a five-star hotel with 123 rooms and 76 shops; a souq with 110 shops, 47 restaurants and 23 offices; and an event centre and serviced apartments with 42 apartment units, a shop, a café, three restaurants, a cinema and a multi-purpose hall.
Ahmad Dabbous, chief executive officer of Muriya, said work on the project has already begun and is expected to be completed in five years.
“The project will take five years and we will start immediately. In fact, we [have] already begun. We [have] designed the concept and will go into more detail soon,” said Dabbous.
“The project is actually old, so there are [some] designs already, but the location has changed. So we are tweaking them to suit the location,” he added, while explaining that the concept of a city walk has been around since 2007. It was originally supposed to be located in Qurum but later shifted to North Al Hail, Seeb.
When asked whether the Madinat Al Irfan project, which is in close proximity to the City Walk, will offer a tough competition as it has similar amenities, Dabbous said, “On the contrary, we see a high demand in Muscat and every project serves (that demand).”
“Our project in Seeb is close to the sea; we have more places and restaurants on the beach and I believe there isn’t enough of that in Muscat,” he added confidently.
“Tourism in Oman is growing, so all this development results in more tourism,” said Dabbous.
He added that the project will create hundreds of jobs, both directly and indirectly.