One of Oman’s biggest tourism projects takes a significant step forward today as the ground breaking ceremony will take place for the $600 million Saraya Bandar Jissah development.

Set to be the first Integrated Tourism Complex launched in seven years, it will offer residential units, five star hotels and recreational facilities, all situated on its stunning luxury location in eastern Muscat in the Al Hajar Mountains.

Promoted as ‘Oman’s newest luxury address’, the ground breaking ceremony will take place on site under the auspices of His Highness Sayyid Asa’ad bin Tariq Al Said, representative to His Majesty the Sultan, in the presence of dignitaries including members of the Omani royal family, ministers, undersecretaries and business leaders.

The development site is spread over 2.2 million square metres, of which only 20 per cent will be built up, creating a destination in harmony with the historical surroundings in the area with outstanding natural beauty.

Saraya Bandar Jissah is a partnership between Omran, Oman’s leading tourism-related investment‚ development and management company and Saraya Holdings whose focus is to develop world-class mixed-use tourist destinations which offer homes for individuals and families of all sizes, partnerships with globally renowned hotels, business facilities and retail in addition to entertainment and a variety of recreational and leisure activities that appeal to people of all ages.

Jumeirah Group, the global hotel company and a member of Dubai Holding, recently signed a management agreement with the project.

The Saraya Bandar Jissah chief executive officer, Sheikh Hamood bin Sultan Al Hosni, said: “It is like bringing a child into the world where you become very protective and only want the best for the child.

“I am very passionate about our development.

“We believe the launch of a new project will give the local real estate market a new impetus and as we are most likely to be the next ITC to be launched, we need to make sure that it is done right.”