DUBAI - A Dubai state holding firm announced Sunday that it has signed an agreement with the authorities in Oman to build a three billion dinars (822 million dollars) beach-to-mountain resort in the Gulf sultanate.
Dubai Holding, which runs mega projects in the affluent Gulf emirate, said its arm Dubai International Properties will build the luxury resort in Yiti, near the Omani capital Muscat.
The 2.6 million-square-metres resort will be completed in stages by 2007, said a statement by Dubai Holding.
The agreement was signed in Yiti by Mohammed Al Gergawi, chief executive officer of Dubai Holding on behalf of Dubai International Properties, and Omani Tourism Minister Rajha bint Abdul Ameer bin Ali, it said, without stating the day the deal was sealed.
Gergawi said that since its October creation, Dubai International Properties "has announced two major projects worth a combined total of more than 4 billion dirhams (1.09 billion dollars) within weeks of each other."
The Omani resort project comes weeks after Dubai International Properties announced plans for a commercial, residential and retail high-rise complex in the Qatari capital of Doha.
Oman, which has stunning natural scenery, rugged mountains and baking deserts, saw its fledgling tourist industry take a hard blow after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States.
The conservative Muslim state, which occupies the eastern edge of the Arabian peninsula, has avoided the mass tourism of Dubai, targeting instead up-market tourism to stimulate the economy without offending local sensitivities.
03/27/2005 14:12 GMT