Oman's Blue City project, which was due to play a major role in the country's diversification plans, could be liquidated within 12 months under plans being considered by some of its bondholders. The planned US$20 billion (Dh73.46bn) property development an hour from Muscat was to have included housing, offices, hotels and universities for some 200,000 people and be built over two decades.
The project was bogged down from the start, however, by an ownership dispute, design changes and slow sales. It issued an almost $1bn bond to finance construction of the first phase in 2006. Essdar Capital, an investment company based in Dubai, bought more than 99 per cent of the Class A bonds associated with the project this year and last year, giving it control of the project. Earlier, the company said it would attempt to help the Blue City Company 1 (BCC1), which was in charge of the first phase of Blue City, restructure so that it could move forward with the project, but a proposal put forward by BCC1 in August was rejected by bond holders.
A source involved with the Blue City project said Essdar was deciding "when, not if, it is going to enforce its rights". BCC1 described the "difficult times" the project was facing in a presentation made to bond holders obtained by The National. It described an "excessive and expensive debt burden" and "onerous debt covenants" together with an "inflexible construction contract" and "general negative publicity surrounding the project".
The proposal included plans to write off part of the debt, reducing costs by 10 per cent and raising a further $150 million in funds to continue development. Richard Russell, the chief executive of BCC1, declined to comment yesterday. If Essdar enforced its rights as the holder of the Class A bonds, which are secured by more than $250m in cash and 25 square km of land, then the project would be liquidated. A new developer would have the opportunity to buy the land in an auction but it would be unlikely to continue under the name Blue City.
Suketu Sanghvi, a senior managing director of Essdar, said yesterday the company would make an announcement on its plans within a month. The Oman government, however, could step in and cancel a concession granted to the Blue City project. It agreed to sell the land on condition that it was developed. Without a concession, the land's value is difficult to calculate. Officials from the Oman government declined to comment yesterday.
bhope@thenational.ae
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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