Third hotel on the way at Salalah Beach resort

Omani resort developer Muriya has started construction work on the third hotel at its Salalah Beach resort complex.

The hotel will be a four-star, Alfanar Hotel and Residences-branded property with 220 rooms, according to Muriya's marketing director Bahaa Hefzalla.

It will be the third hotel to be developed at Salalah Beach, following on from the 400-room Rotana Salalah resort hotel opened in March and the 82-room Juweirah property which opened in 2012.

Deals have also been signed with two other operators - Club Med and Movenpick.

"It proves that we are going very well to have five hotels within three years. For us, this is a big achievement as a developer in Oman," he added, stating that the Alfanar hotel will take around two years to complete.

At its other major project in Jebel Sifah, Hefzalla said that work is underway on its golf course, and that it expects to have the first nine holes ready by the middle of next year.

"We have already commenced with the construction. The shaping of five holes has already been done and we are planning to have the first nine holes out of the 18 green and ready by mid-2015. In less than nine months."

Hefzalla said that the handover of residential units at both developments was also continuing, with a mix of 190 apartments and villas handed over at the two resorts.

Muriya is a joint venture between Orascom Hotels & Development, which owns a 70% stake, and the Omani government's Ministry of Tourism.