Muscat: Omran, which is mandated by the Government of Oman to deliver major projects and manage tourism assets and investments, formally broke ground yesterday on the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, a major new project which will become one of the region's leading facilities for conferences and exhibitions.
Ahmad Bin Abdul Nabi Macki, Minister of National Economy and Deputy Chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council, laid the foundation stone. Dr Rajiha Bint Abdul Amir Bin Ali, Minister of Tourism and Chairperson of Omran, was also present.
The key components of the centre include an aud-itorium with seating cap-acity for 3,000 people, exhibition halls with 25,000 square metres of exhibition space and the ability to seat 10,000 people in the first phase.
The development will also have banquet halls, meeting space, 85,000 square metres of office space in a grade-A business park, four hotels with a total of 1,000 rooms and a large shopping mall.
Oman's first international-standard convention centre, which represents a major investment by Omran, will allow Muscat to become a regional destination serving the Mice (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) sector, providing an additional boost to Oman's fast-growing tourism industry.
New destination
Macki welcomed the impact that the centre will have on the Omani economy. "This facility will allow Oman to become a major new destination for conferences, exhibitions and other major business events. These will have a major impact on our economy in the future, creating many hundreds of jobs for Omanis and attracting hundreds of thousands of business travellers each year," he said.
Dr Rajiha said that the centre represented an important element of Oman's tourism strategy. "Over recent years Oman has taken major strides forward to attract tourists to our many leisure resorts and hotels. Our strategy has always been to target the business sector too and this investment will provide us with an outstanding venue for conferences and exhibitions," she said.
