Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) is to start work on its ambitious RO500-million ($1.3 billion) Mina Sultan Qaboos Waterfront Project next year.

Aimed at transforming Port Sultan Qaboos into a major mixed-use waterfront destination, the project will be developed in four phases.

The urban regeneration scheme covers a 101-hectare area in Sultan Qaboos Port and will include business and residential zones, retail centres, seven hotels (three, four and five stars), waterfront promenades, berthing facilities for cruise liners and super yachts, tourist attractions and recreation facilities.

Phase One will include an SME (small and medium enterprises) incubator, arts, crafts and organic farmers market, a visitor’s centre, boutique and destination shopping, restaurants and cafes, a marine heritage centre, an aquarium and a kid’s entertainment village. It also includes a fisherman’s wharf, fish suq, a five-star hotel with a yacht club and marina, a four-star family hotel, hotel-operated residential apartments, starter apartments for first-time home buyers with extensive parking and park-and-ride locations. The first phase is to be completed by 2020.

The second phase, which will kick off in 2019, will include five-star hotel, a four-star hotel, conference facilities, a healthcare centre and sports club and residential apartments.

The third phase will see the completion of new wharf and berthing facilities for cruise liners, ferries and coastguard vessels. It will also include a boutique hotel, branded residential apartments with retail and hospitality areas.

The fourth and final phase includes a budget hotel, logistics zones, an healthcare clinic and an accommodation zone for employees.

The project, which is likely to be completed by 2027, will be launched for investment in this month (November).