Work on first stage of OMR250 million Ras Al Hadd tourism project will start soon, Darwish bin Ismail Al Balushi, Minister Responsible for Financial Affairs, Deputy Chairman of Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) has said. A joint venture between the Sultanate’s Government, represented by Omran and Al Diar Real Estate Investment, company of Qatar will execute the project. Spread out over 1.8 million square metres, the project comes within a strategy to develop the tourism sector in the Sultanate and the government’s efforts to diversify sources of national economy and maximise the utilisation of tourism sites, he said in a statement. He added that the first stage of the multi-phase project, which will cost RO250 million, will be initiated during the first quarter of 2016. The two countries signed an agreement in November 2014 to set up a tourism project in Ras Al Hadd in the Wilayat of Sur in the Governorate of South A’Sharqiyah.   As per this agreement, the project will be developed in four phases. Phase one includes the establishment of a 100-room eco-themed resort, 50 hotel villas, 150 residential villas and a 7,000-sq-m suq “market”. This phase is targeted for completion by the end of 2018. Phase two involves the addition of 100 new five-star hotel rooms to the resort, as well as an additional 196 residential villas, and a dedicated centre for wildlife preservation and an observation park set over a 10,000 sq-m area. The third phase will see the construction of a separate 200-room five-star resort, an additional 50 hotel villas and 179 residential villas, as well as the development of a new market area covering 16,000 sq-m, and the construction of a specialized marine life park. The final phase of the Ras Al Hadd project will witness the opening of a 150-room five-star hotel, 50 hotel villas, 175 new residential villas, as well as the construction of a dedicated heritage village, and a specialized staff accommodation zone to accommodate 836 employees. (Times of Oman)