The UAE’s Majid Al Futtaim Group is to build its third City Centre in Oman.

The mixed-use development of shops, entertainment facilities and hotels will be located in the sultanate’s second largest city, Sohar, and is due to open its doors in the last quarter of 2011, joining the group’s very successful Muscat City Centre and the Qurum City Centre malls in the capital.
Sohar City Centre will feature a new Magic Planet for entertainment, more than 100 stores, a food court, two hotels Ibis and Novotel and a Carrefour hypermarket.
The mall will be located on the UAE-Muscat highway, off the Sallan Roundabout, leading to the residential and commercial areas of the city and the port of Sohar.
Shahram Shamsaee, senior vice-president, shopping malls at Majid Al Futtaim Properties, said the centre will introduce a new retail experience for Sohar’s residents and visitors. “Oman has seen real growth in the past few years and Sohar has risen in popularity as well as population. The timing for the City Centre is perfect,” he said. “Sohar Industrial Port is the fastest growing industrial hub in the region and it’s attracting a large number of investors. This new development is part of our overall strategy and plan to expand our very successful City Centre franchise in the region. Our shopping malls are designed for customers needs; we approach every detail of our projects with the consumer in mind.”
The centre is being designed by architects Broadway Malyan and Atkins and will feature a contemporary design embellished with local Omani characteristics to create a quality and welcoming ambiance.