Dear
Home Owner,
We
are pleased to provide a full
update on affairs at the Muscat
Golf Course Project, soon
to be the home of Muscat Golf
& Country Club, the Sultanate
of Oman's first residential
golf community with freehold
ownership for non-Omani nationals.
Milestones
Achieved
The
last year has been a difficult
one with considerable delays
in progress. However, a number
of very important milestones
have been achieved, laying
a solid foundation for the
Project to now move to construction
and through to completion.
February
2006 - Ministry of Tourism
certification is achieved
enabling the Project to benefit
from the Royal Decree relating
to private ownership by non-nationals.
June
2006 - The Master Plan is
formally approved by the Ministry.
(Ministry of Housing, Electricity
& Water)
September
2006 - The Advisory Board
of Directors is granted decision-making
authority and the banks representative
was invited to join the Board
November
2006 - Muscat Municipality
grants the Building Permit
December
2006 - The Ministry issues
separate title deeds for each
of the various parcels of
land on the development
January
2007 - Oman Arab Bank and
Bank Dhofar jointly express
their support for the Project
and confirm they will provide
bridging finance
We
do very much appreciate all
the support and assistance
we have received from the
government of the Sultanate
of Oman
Construction
We
know all of you will be keen
to see the construction of
the residential phase underway.
The
elements for that are now
in-place: Cowi & Partners
are firmly in the seat leading
the design and project management
team. Expressions of interest
for construction of the villas
and apartments have been received
from several leading international
contractors. Our bankers have
agreed to preferential and
secured payment terms for
the successful contractor.
And the Project Management
team are in the process of
' tender, evaluation and award
' in order to have a contractor
appointed by the summer.
Once
awarded, the construction
programme will be put on the
web site for you to track
our progress in detail.
Time
Frames
Until
the construction contracts
are awarded we cannot give
a definite date as to completion
and handover of your properties.
However, as an indication,
we believe the residential
phase will be completed by
the end of 2008. By then the
golf course will be well established
and open for play.
The
Muscat Golf & Country Club
community will become a reality
in 2009.
For
Buyers who can't wait
We
do sincerely appreciate that
for some Buyers who have bought
anticipating earlier completion
dates, the above time frames
may cause difficulties, especially
for those who need to move
onto the development as their
main home. Contractually Buyers
may not sell their property
until 30% of the purchase
price has been paid. To give
you more options the Board
has agreed to an offer to
be made to all our Buyers
who have paid at least 15%
to be able to return your
property to us and you will
obtain a full refund plus
interest at 2% over bank rate
from the date you paid. This
offer is valid only until
30th March 2007. Terms and
conditions apply.
For
those who can !
As
you know, you only pay as
we perform in terms of your
stage payments through to
completion. The good news
is that the value of the development
is already rising. Hamptons
International recently valued
the land on the development
and the residential land allotted
to the Buyers is valued at
RO 175 per M2.
A
quick calculation of this
rate multiplied by your plot
area will show you the present
market value of the land alone.
We leave it to you decide
the potential investment return
once the development is complete
and should you decide to sell
!
The
Golf Course
The
golf course is turning into
something special. During
recent months two major golf
management and development
consultants viewed the site,
including representatives
from Dubai Golf and not only
do we have an excellent golf
course design but we have
received high marks for the
construction methodology and
how the work has been carried
out. This winter we saw some
substantial rainfall in Muscat
and the storm water drainage
system has functioned really
well. This represents an important
benchmark in quality construction.
With
the terrain and solid rock
site conditions, this undoubtedly
has to be one of the most
challenging golf course construction
projects anywhere. Full credit
to Mike Knudsen of Southern
Golf and all his team. With
the shaping substantially
complete and soil work underway,
we can't wait to see the course
' go green' later this year
and know it will have been
worth the wait !
The
golf course does reflect the
Project : we may be late but
we are building a quality
development that will be truly
world-class.
Management
Changes
Mike
Hywel-Davies has left the
Project and will be soon enjoying
a well earned retirement.
Mike has made a great contribution
to this Project. During a
difficult period, he has served
with dedication, integrity
and passion. We look forward
to welcoming him back to the
official opening as our guest
!
The
new General Manager is John
May. We are fortunate to have
secured John's services. An
industry professional, we
believe he will be ideally
suited to lead the Project
through construction and onto
the operational phase. We
welcome John to the finest
residential golf project in
the region.
Communication
Our
lines of communication have
not been as we would have
wished recently and we do
sincerely apologise to you
all for this. This Newsletter
is the start of a new initiative
to keep you updated and respond
promptly and clearly to any
queries you may have.
Elaine
Armstrong, who has been with
the Project for nearly 2 years,
takes over from 1st March
as the focal point of contact
for all our Buyers.
Elaine
may be contacted on : elaine@muscatgolf.com
Should
you have any comments or suggestions
as to what you would like
to see covered by this Newsletter,
please do send them to info@muscatgolf.com,
they will be appreciated.