Muscat – Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping malls, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, has said that the first phase of its RO5bn Tilal Al Irfan urban development project in Muscat will be completed within three years.

A joint venture between Omran Group and Majid Al Futtaim, Tilal Al Irfan is Oman’s largest, most expansive and ambitious mixed-use development. Tilal Al Irfan, which is at the heart of Madinat Al Irfan development, is a long-term 20-years project and planned to become the sultanate’s largest integrated urban lifestyle destination and Muscat’s new central district.

“Tilal Al Irfan is a multibillion-dollar long-term project. It is the largest urban development in Oman. We have already started construction and infrastructure works are underway. Very soon we will launch the customer experience centre,” Hawazen Esber, chief executive officer of Majid Al Futtaim Communities, said during an online media roundtable on Monday.

Spread over the 5mn sqm of land area, Tilal Al Irfan will be a vibrant interconnected mix of places for business, innovation, education, culture, leisure and lifestyle, according to Majid Al Futtaim officials. Esber said the overall project of 5mn sqm is expected to be developed over the span of 20 years, depending on market conditions. “But the phase 1 of Tilal Al Irfan should be completed within next three years,” he said.

The phase 1 includes full development of at least 250,000 sqm area and will deliver residential units, school, hospital and new business district for Muscat, Esber added. Tilal Al Irfan project could see direct and enabled investments of around RO1.25bn in every five-year cycle over its 20-year’s span, depending on recovery of the real-estate market, according to Ahmed Galal Ismail, chief executive officer of Majid Al Futtaim Properties.

Majid Al Futtaim, being the largest non-hydrocarbon investor in Oman, has already invested around US$2bn and created over 30,000 direct and indirect jobs in the sultanate, Ismail said.

A platform for new investments

“Tilal Al Irfan is a platform for Majid Al Futtaim, Omran Group and other local and regional players to come together and be part of this huge project. We will deliver some of the residential, hospitality and educational components of the project through other players (local and regional investors),” Esber said.

Tilal Al Irfan’s smart city master plan, Esber said, will provide a strategic platform of opportunity to participate and invest in Oman’s new economy. He said this mega project will attract additional foreign direct investment (FDI) to Oman and create thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

“This development will have residential components, business parks, retail, hospitals and educational facilities which would attract FDI. When completed, Tilal al Irfan will be hosting more than 40,000 residents and hopefully create more than 20,000 direct and indirect jobs,” Esber added.

According to Ismail, the first phase sales will be launched very soon for Tilal Al Irfan project.

“Tilal Al Irfan is our largest and most ambitious project in Oman. We have seen how Al Mouj Muscat has reshaped not only Oman’s real-estate market but society and today a vast majority of buyers and residents in Al Mouj Muscat are Omani nationals. We are looking forward to replicate the same at Tilal Al Irfan,” Ismail added.

Source: https://www.muscatdaily.com