Madinat Al Irfan theatre ... completed last November.
Milestones at Madinat Al Irfan
01 February 2020
Madinat Al Irfan, Oman’s largest urban development project, has marked a number of significant milestones over the past year culminating in the soft opening of the sultanate’s first JW Marriott hotel and the second hotel within the prestigious district.
This follows the completion last November of Madinat Al Irfan Theatre – the country’s largest lyric theatre and one of the biggest in the region – which was the last of the key components of Madinat Al Irfan’s flagship development, the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) precinct.
OCEC is a world-class venue for international conferences, trade shows and concerts that is currently making a vital contribution to Oman’s meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) sector.
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Ibis Styles ... to take shape at Madinat Al Irfan. |
The OCEC and the wider Madinat Al Irfan development are central to the Omani government’s strategy to diversify the national economy, according to Peter Walichnowski, CEO of Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran), the sultanate’s executive arm for tourism development, which is spearheading the development of Madinat Al Irfan.
Omran is now keenly eyeing the development of its third hotel in the mixed-use urban development, which will be the three-star Ibis Styles hotel.
“In 2020, Omran opened the JW Marriott, Madinat Al Irfan, and is gearing up to start development of the third hotel, Ibis Styles in line with its strategy of developing three-, four- and five-star hotels,” a spokesman for Omran, tells Gulf Construction.
Madinat Al Irfan is set to contribute to Oman Vision 2040. The eastern area, which sits alongside Wadi Park just minutes from the new Muscat International Airport, is currently being developed by Omran, which late last year announced new investment opportunities for this area.
These involve development of the 282-key Ibis Styles, adjacent to the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, as well as a build-and-own commercial office building in the Madinat Al Irfan Business Park, part of which will be leased by Omran as its head office. The net leasable area of the building would be approximately 16,000 sq m.
Meanwhile, at the Business Park, Omran marked the completion of work on the Omantel head office building last year and will start further projects in 2020, according to the spokesman.
The Ibis Styles is the third hotel in the precint following the opening of the Crowne Plaza Muscat OCEC Hotel in November 2017 and Muscat’s first JW Marriott Hotel in January 2020.
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The newly-opened JW Marriott Muscat. |
JW Marriott Muscat
JW Marriott Muscat is the latest addition to Omran Group’s hotel portfolio which aims to boost the sultanate’s MICE offering as well as play an integral role in attracting both business and leisure travellers to Oman.
“Having a mix of hotels in such an ideal location is integral not only to developing Oman’s business tourism offerings but it also provides the perfect forum to support developing the local market and creating new sustainable job opportunities for Omanis in the hospitality industry.” Walichnowski remarks.
JW Marriott Muscat offers 304 spacious and modern rooms and suites including a Presidential suite. It also features five restaurants and lounges, 2,500 sq m of banqueting space flooded with natural daylight and equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technologies in two large ballrooms and six meeting rooms. Leisure facilities include a state-of-the-art fitness centre, a spa, sauna and steam facilities as well as a pool.
Demonstrating Omran Group’s sustainable and environmental stewardship, the JW Marriott Muscat is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold compliant – a stringent green-building standard set by the US Green Building Council (USGBC).
Madinat Al Irfan Theatre
Meanwhile, the Madinat Al Irfan Theatre, a three-storey building which can accommodate up to 3,200 people, was completed last November.
Featuring a design inspired by the Sultan Qaboos Rose, the iconic theatre will serve as a platform for the organisation of cultural events, art performance and conferences. It adopts the highest conferences management standards and includes 19 separate conference rooms in addition to an auditorium with a capacity to host 456 people.
CEO of OCEC Said bin Salim Al Shanfari says: “The theatre is equipped with state-of-the-art audio-visual (AV) and lighting technologies. The cabling infrastructure of the theatre is equipped with titanium cables for lighting that provides high-resolution colours using ArtNet technology.”
The theatre is also equipped with a world-class sophisticated sound system.
According to Omran, the OCEC has two additional ballrooms. These comprise the Grand Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 2,688 people and can be divided into fully equipped six separate halls; and the Junior Ballroom for 1,026 people, which can be divided into two halls depending on the requirement of the organiser.
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Madinat Al Irfan West ... to be developed in partnership with Majid Al Futtaim. |
Madinat Al Irfan West
The western area of Madinat Al Irfan is being developed by Omran in partnership with Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, following a strategic partnership deal signed in June 2018 that is expected to involve a total investment of RO5 billion ($12.9 billion) over a 20-year period.
The joint venture will see the development of a vibrant mixed-use community spanning over 4.5 million sq m.
Upon completion in three key stages, Madinat Al Irfan will feature more than 11,000 residential units comprising villas, townhouses and apartments, 100,000 sq m of retail space, 700,000 sq m of office space, as well as a number of cultural and lifestyle offerings.
