Auris Opening Hotel in Port of Sohar

Hatem Gasmi

The managing director of Dubai-based Auris Hotel Management, Hatem Gasmi, announced that his company will be opening a new four-star, 70-room hotel in Sohar within the next eight months, making it the first property outside Dubai launched by Auris.

The hotel will be located approximately 12 kilometers from Sohar’s airport and will be receiving business as well as leisure guests to the port city.

Gasmi said, "We are in the final stages of design and furnishing – everything is there. It will cater to the needs of the business traveler in Sohar."

The hotel will make a point of attracting family guests by instituting a non-alcohol policy on the premises. Business guests will be enticed with a conference area which can accommodate 200 people in two rooms; a business lounge; two restaurants; and separate health clubs for men and women.

Gasmi stated that the investments which the government made totaling $12 billion towards building up the area will turn Sohar into a “major industrial hub.”

Oman’s Port to be Transformed to Exclusive Tourist Hub

Port Sultan Qaboos

As part of Oman’s master plan to develop tourism into a major part of its GDP, Port Sultan Qaboos is slated to be turned into an exclusive hub for tourists to Oman and the rest of the region.

Today the port is the Sultanate’s main harbor for the import and export of cargo. The goal in Oman is that the development of the port will be part of an expansion of the tourist trade in general until it becomes 2.4% of the country’s GDP.

A joint statement was issued by the ministries of transport and communications explaining the intention to soon creating a master plan:

“The two ministries will develop the master plan and detailed designs for the port and its associated services and utilities in coordination with the concerned government and private establishments.

“It will be totally dedicated to tourism,” a joint statement said.

The present activities at Port Sultan Qaboos will be transferred to the port in Sohar in as smooth a way as possible “to ensure non-conflict with the existing concession agreement for the management and operation of Port Sultan Qaboos.”

One Wounded in Oman as Government Attempts to Disperse Crowds

Tuesday marked the fourth day of protests in the northern port city of Sohar in Oman. According to witnesses, about 200 to 300 people were on the road demanding jobs and political reforms when the army began shooting in the air. “Many people ran,” said one protester who asked not to be mentioned by name. “The man who was shot came to calm down the army.”

The shots fired caused the crowd to begin to disperse, but they soon reformed at a traffic circle near the port, and the troops pulled back.

On Monday the demonstrators successfully blocked the entrance to Sohar port, disrupting the export of the country’s life blood, oil. On average Oman sends 160,000 barrels a day out of the country.

Protests also spread to the capital city of Muscat on Monday. The demonstrations are a rare event in what is usually considered a ‘sleepy sultanate.’ Sultan Qaboos bin Said has ruled the country for over 40 years, and is surprised by the fervor he is witnessing in what is otherwise a stable society.

The sultan is acting to calm the tensions in his country, which erupted on the general wave of protests which are sweeping through the Middle East. On Sunday the sultan offered to create 50,000 jobs and offered unemployment benefits to workers out of jobs of 239 pounds/month. He has also said that he will investigate ways to give more power to the quasi-parliamentary advisory council.