BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT, JUNE 29
The Sustainable City — Yiti, set to be the first fully sustainable community in the Sultanate of Oman, signed on Wednesday a Memorandum of Understanding with Sohar Islamic Bank to open an Escrow Account for the newly launched master planned project in the capital city of Muscat.
This agreement was made in accordance with Royal Decree 30/2018, which aims to protect developers’ funds. Accordingly, The Sustainable City — Yiti can now offer Escrow services for the buyers of its upcoming 1,657 residential units — including 300 eco-friendly and energy-efficient villas, 1225 apartments and 132 luxury serviced apartments.
The agreement was signed by Hashil bin Obaid al Mahrouqi, Chairman of Sustainable Development and Investment Company (SDIC) and Abdulwahid bin Mohammed al Murshidi, Chief Islamic Banking Officer, Sohar Islamic. The ceremony was also attended by key stakeholders from OMRAN Group, Diamond Developers and Sohar Islamic.
Commenting on this partnership, Hashil al Mahrouqi, Chairman of SDIC, said: “With an investment value of nearly $1 billion, this project marks a unique milestone in our journey as we continue to invest, develop and maximise the limitless potential of Oman’s tourism sector. We are committed to working with our partners to ensure the smoothest experience for our buyers and investors. Our agreement with Sohar Islamic, one of the leading financial institutions in the country, not only protects customers but assists in attracting investors to Oman’s real estate market.”
Al Murshidi of Sohar Islamic said: “We always aspire to collaborate with key strategic partners in the development space. This agreement was a result of a very detailed dialogue and requirements definition exercise between the teams from both sides, and we are delighted to be offering bespoke services to The Sustainable City — Yiti buyers and to support the property sector and the overall economic growth of the Sultanate of Oman.”
The Sustainable City — Yiti project is a partnership between OMRAN Group, the executive arm of the Sultanate of Oman for developing the tourism sector, and Diamond Developers — the leading company in developing sustainable communities. The project will be the largest operational sustainable community in the region, designed to deliver measurable outcomes across the three pillars of sustainability: Social, environmental, economic and will achieve net-zero carbon targets by 2040.
