Dubai mall operator says Oman investments to rise by $1.3bn

Majid Al Futtaim says extra investments are likely to create more than 42,000 jobs in the next five years.

Majid Al Futtaim, the Dubai-based shopping mall operator, has announced it will increase its investment in Oman by OR515 million ($1.3 billion) by 2020.

The company said in a statement that its investment strategy includes Mall of Oman (estimated OR275 million), City Centre Sohar (OR45 million), My City Centre Sur (OR15 million), and additional investments valued at about OR180 million) including Magic Planet, Carrefour and VOX Cinemas.

Majid Al Futtaim added that its investments are anticipated to create more than 42,000 direct and indirect job opportunities in the sultanate in the next five years.

When it opens in 2020, Mall of Oman will be the largest integrated retail, leisure and entertainment destination in the country.

The super-regional mall will feature 350 outlets in a 137,000 sq m retail space. It will feature ‘firsts’ including Oman’s largest snow-park, with an 8,000 sq m play area, and a Little Explorers edu-tainment centre. It will also include the country’s first Abercrombie & Fitch and largest VOX Cinemas and Magic Planet.

It is estimated that Mall of Oman’s development will generate 29,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.

The company said City Centre Sohar, set to open in 2018, will be home to 100 new retail outlets across 40,000 sq m and will create an estimated 8,000 employment opportunities in Oman.

It added that My City Centre Sur, which will open in 2017, will be Majid Al Futtaim’s first community mall in Oman and will 50 outlets, a 6,850 sqm Carrefour hypermarket, Oman’s first City Centre Clinic and a Magic Planet. The project will create more than 3,500 direct and indirect job opportunities.

Alain Bejjani, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim – Holding, said: “We have always been pioneering in the Omani market. We are proud to renew our commitment to be the leading GCC investor in the sultanate. We look forward to completing our projects.”

Majid Al Futtaim is also expanding its existing City Centre Qurum shopping mall in Muscat. The revamp will see the introduction of Centrepoint, the multi-brand retail concept, as well as additional car parking spaces.

The company said it is also developing the next phase of Al Mouj Muscat, an oceanfront mixed-use destination, and expanding its VOX Cinemas and Carrefour hypermarkets to new locations across the sultanate.

The plans build on the company’s existing developments in Oman including City Centre Muscat, City Centre Qurum and Al Mouj Muscat.