|
www.timesofoman.com Oman’s visionary Blue City residential and tourist complex will be showcased at the world’s most prestigious travel trade show next spring.
ITB Berlin will host over 10,000 exhibitors from 180 countries in March 2006 and the Blue City developers have chosen this venue to unveil more details of their ambitious plans at the biggest exhibition of its kind in the world.
ITB Berlin runs from March 8 to 12, 2006. This annual exhibition attracted 142,000 visitors to its 2005 event, with 84,000 of these from the travel, trade and real estate sectors.
ITB calls itself “a prime meeting place, a marketplace and a driving force behind the entire industry … the basis for the development of new ideas, global approaches and targeted marketing.”
Anees bin Issa Al Zedjali is the chairman of Blue City’s development company Al Sawadi Investment and Tourism Co (ASIT). Speaking about Blue City’s first major exposure to the European market he said: “We are showcasing Blue City at ITB Berlin to raise awareness of this huge project.”
“Working together with Oman’s Ministry of Tourism, we aim to complement its own promotion initiatives to make Oman better known as a destination for European visitors. Last year we participated at ITB as part of the Omani national stand. Now that the Blue City is nearing the beginning of construction we decided to present ourselves separately but in co-ordination with Oman’s government’s own promotion.”
It is only five months since the huge Blue City project was announced in June and already planning is far advanced so work can begin at the end of this year on the $1.9 billion Phase One.
The 35sqkm Blue City is centered at Al Sawadi on the Omani coast, some 100 kilometres northwest of the capital Muscat. It will take 15 years and $15 billion to complete over several phases.
The Blue City is also designed to attract over two million tourists a year to its five-star facilities, just 30 minutes by road from the country’s international airport.
“Oman is by far the most beautiful and unspoilt of all Arabian destinations for European travellers and investors,” commented ITB’s Astrid Ehring. She welcomed Blue City’s participation, saying: “Unlike its neighbours, Oman has withheld from mass tourism and intensive, high-rise development. The country has opted instead for integrated and low-intensity development projects with a keen focus on maintaining the quality of the country’s exquisite environment.
“The Blue City’s designers and planners have put together an ambitious and sensitive concept that is wholly respectful of Oman’s rich heritage.”
The Blue City has been justifiably called the region’s most exciting real estate project.
It is the region’s largest urban and lifestyle development. When completed, The Blue City will offer a wide range of facilities and investment opportunities.
Phase One is an early entry opportunity for shrewd investors who understand the massive potential that Oman offers and the country’s stability and solid economic base which underpins any project that has the support of the astute Omani Government.
The model city has already caught the imagination of several prominent investors and moves are being made to list the project publicly on the Muscat Securities Market.
|
