Al Khaleel awards Muscat hotel construction contract

Al Khaleel Group, a leading trading and contracting company in Oman, said it has awarded a construction contract to Al Rawahi International for its three-star hotel project - Ramada Encore - coming up in the capital Muscat. Al Khaleel had recently tied up with the world-renowned Wyndham Hotel Group to launch two new hotels in the sultanate under the ‘Ramada’ brand name, said the company in a statement. A luxury hospitality property with 140 deluxe rooms and 24 suites, the Ramada Encore will also boast state-of-the-art business facilities, leisure amenities, a rooftop cafe and pool as well as male and female fitness centres. Ramada Encore will be strategically located along Sultan Qaboos main road in Al Ghubrah, a short distance from Muscat International Airport, nearby shopping centres and Oman’s renowned Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. With all-day dining restaurants and coffee lounge, the hotel will not only be the first Ramada Encore to open in Oman, but also the largest of its kind across the Middle East and Africa region, the statement said. The first of the two Ramada projects coming up in Oman, the three-star hotel will be built with in 16 months, it stated. The second project, the four-star Ramada Hotel and Suites Muscat is being planned next to the Encore property which will be inter-connected by a footbridge, said the statement from the Omani group. It will offer contemporary accommodation across 90 high-end suites and share its leisure facilities with the first hotel, it added. "The Ramada Encore project is a reflection of our vision to contribute to Omanisation, the tourism industry as well as the overall economy of the sultanate," said Sheikh Jehad bin Mohammed Al Khalili, the deputy managing director of Al Khaleel Group after signing the deal with Ameet Hirani, executive director at Al Rawahi International. "We are very excited because this signing ceremony represents the establishment of the biggest Ramada Encore in the MEA," remarked Al Khalili, who is also the group's project director. “The collaboration with Al Rawahi International brings much value to this project due to their vast and long years of experience in the construction of similar projects in hospitality,” he added. Hirani said: "As a leading contracting firm in Oman, we have already completed several projects for international brands and look forward to extending our attractive hospitality portfolio with new partner, Al Khaleel Group. As a construction company, we are committed to delivering value." “Our forthcoming developments will undoubtedly demonstrate that bolstering tourism assets will bring a range of benefits to local businesses and the wider community,”