Muscat: Developers yesterday kick-started the construction of the $15-$20 billion Blue City with a groundbreaking ceremony for the $3 billion Phase 1.
Amidst rapid tourism development in the country, Oman is looking to take the development process to every region of the Sultanate, said Sayyid Asaad Bin Tareq Al Said, representative of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, on the sidelines of the ceremony.
Al Said on Sunday night laid the foundation-stone for the biggest beachfront freehold property in Oman and termed it as an important development in the Sultanate's plans.
"We need such big projects not only for tourism development but also to contribute to the development of the local area and dwellers around it," he said.
"With the growth in tourism, we are looking at the equal development of all areas in the country in the next ten years," he told reporters. He said such projects are expected to benefit the local residents and provide them with education and training.
The first phase of the project, which will be released for sale today, represents a substantial standalone project but is also intended to fit as a component of the overall development.
It will be built over an area totalling 5.4 square kilometres, which is 15.8 per cent of the projected final site land of 34 square km. The Phase One will have 5,193 villas and apartments, four hotels, six individual retail areas with a total floor area of approximately 1.7 million square metres and it will be ready for delivery by 2010.
Key tourism-related elements of Phase One are a 27-hole tournament standard golf resort, complete with a golf hotel, a mega mall providing high class shopping, a tourist village and souq, a natural creek conservation park, an amphitheatre and four hotels.
The ceremony conducted in a traditional tent enclosure included an inspiring musical performance by singer Stefanie Rose Airey and virtual speeches using hologram techniques. The welcome address by Sayyid Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said, Oman's Minister of Heritage and Culture, was also virtual although he was present at the ceremony.
"Al Madina A'Zarqa is planned to become a model for a lifestyle that adapts to the surrounding environment," he said in his welcome address.
"The project has not excluded traditional Omani architectural design and construction; on the contrary it is inspired by the architectural elements to be found in the local environment," Sayyid Haitham said.
He said that the Blue City was planned to be a model for those seeking relaxation in an integrated community that meets the need of daily life including family and work requirements.
Virtual speeches, using hologram techniques, were also made by Gerard Evenden, senior partner, Foster + Partners, and Dimitris Kallitsantsis, AECO director and managing director of Elliniki Technodomiki.
