Muscat , SPA — Oman”s fast growing private sector today launched a $15 billion "The Blue City" – the first of its kind in the Middle East – to be built over 35 square kilometers in one of Oman”s most breathtaking beaches, some 100 kms north of Muscat, to boost not only tourism but other sectors also.
The first phase of the 15-year mega project called AL-Madina Al-Zarqa in Arabic, which is in tune with Oman”s economic surge based on diversification, will be completed by 2009 at a cost of $1.8 billion at Swadi Beach.
"We are today witnessing the birth of an entire new city in the Sultanate – a master-planned and economically driven development which will propel Oman into a prominent multi-disciplinary living destination worldwide," Anees Essa, chairman and managing director of Al-Sawadi Investment and Tourism Company (ASIT) told a crowded press conference. Also present were about 90 foreign journalists
who flew in specially to cover the event.
Hours later, The Blue City was unveiled by Minister of National Economy Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki at a colorful ceremony at Al-Bustan Palace Hotel in the presence of the Royal Family members, ministers and other top-notch personalities to make it a memorable affair, according to a press statement circulated today