SUNDAY December 4, 2016 4 Rabi Al Awal 1438 AH
FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN
To sheikhs and dignitaries of Dhofar at the conclusion of His Majesty’s Meet-thePeople Tour of the country, 1995
‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’ There are some people who think that the jobs available are not suitable for them and refuse to accept them. Any who think they are above the work, whatever be the nature of such work, will not succeed in strengthening their economic situation.
Founded 1975 . Volume 41 No. 235 | 36 Pages . Baisas 200 . Subscription OMR63 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company | Chairman/Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Issa Al Zadjali | Printed & Published by Muscat Media Group
M U S C AT M U N I C I PA L I T Y
Abandoned cars to be towed away RAHUL DAS HASAN AL LAWATI
rahuldas@timesofoman.com hassan@timesofoman.com
Most families have already been relocated from the area
Work will begin soon, according to spokeswoman
Oman Investment Fund has been given the task of development
YITI RIVIERA PLAN SET TO TAKE OFF
MUSCAT: More than 450 cars, long abandoned in Muscat, will be towed away if their owners do not remove them, according to officials in Muscat Municipality. An eyesore Abandoned cars, a constant eyesore for residents, which also harms the appearance of the city, are often seen gathering dust close to car workshops and in public car parks. >A7 TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES
OMAN
No freelancers hiring
1
Tourism bosses
REGION
want to make
Protection of heritage
Yiti a riviera
Existing expat freelancers (free visa workers) cannot be hired. >A5
2
France and the UAE launch a $100m fund to protect heritage sites. >A9
KHADIJA AL ZADJALI
khadija@timesofoman.com
for the Gulf region
MUSCAT: Ambitious plans to create a multi-million rial Oman riviera are set to rise from the ashes, after a tourism think tank resurrected the project. Eight years ago, work on the ambitious Yiti golf resort project stopped due to the global credit
crunch. All that remains at the scenic fishing village near Muscat is a canal built by previous developers. But tourism executives and ministry officials, meeting at the recent Tanfeedh tourism lab, have decided the project should go ahead to transform that corner of the Sultanate into a Riviera for the Gulf. Some villagers in Yiti have been relocated while those who chose
to stay are eagerly awaiting news about jobs at the new development. “The project is going to begin soon,” Shukoor Ghammari, a Tourism Lab participant at the recent Tanfeedh think tank and shura council member, told Times of Oman, confirming the new plans for the project. According to the Majlis Al Shura member, Ali Al Jabri, though
development has been on the table for eight years, Yiti is ready to move forward. “Nothing has started, but the project has been handed to the Oman Investment Fund,” Al Jabri said. “In preparation for the development, villagers were relocated years ago. Everything is ready, they just have to start,” he added. >A8 See also >A4
PRODUCTION CUT
MARKET
Light industries park
Oil rises 14% on OPEC pact
3
REJIMON K CHIEF REPORTER
Light industries park, Sandan, has achieved progress. >B1
MORNING MINUTE
reji@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Increasing global crude prices are a positive sign, but they still need to reach at least $65 per barrel, an oil firm official and an economist said. As Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) breathed new life into crude last week with an agreement to cut produc-
tion for the first time since 2008, crude has spiked 14 per cent, ending on Friday at a 17-month high of $51.68 per barrel. “The price rise is a good thing. However, a price of around $65 per barrel is the needed one. Currently, we are suffering a loss in production costs,” Mohammed Khalid, the country manager of Descon Engineering, an oil and gas firm in Oman, told Times of Oman. The OPEC decision marks
a significant shift in the Saudi Arabia-led cartel’s two-year price war against US shale. Investors are betting that OPEC’s decision to stop flooding the world with oil will ease the supply glut that caused prices to collapse. On Friday, Oman crude was traded at $51.45, while last Thursday, Oman’s oil price increased by 4.07 to reach $49.71 per barrel after the OPEC agreement. >A6
Wadi Mistel in Oman a paradise for tourists
A8