Blue City (Al Madina A'Zarqa) was a planned city project in the
Sultanate of Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
with a $20 billion budget. The city was supposed to spread over 32 square kilometers and 16 kilometers of coastline along the coastal region at
Al Sawaadi
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media
* Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera
* Al (''Fullmetal ...
, 45 minutes from
Muscat
Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is s ...
.
When completed, the city would have included 20 hotels, hospitals, and a university. It was to have shopping centers, a marina, and schools. Al Madina A'Zarqa supported the government Vision 2020 in diversifying the sultanate's economy from fossil fuel.
About the Blue City
Located on a peninsula 30 minutes from
Muscat Seeb Airport, Al Madina A'Zarqa was to be a waterfront city built along of shoreline adjacent to the
Gulf of Oman
The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ar, خليج عمان ''khalīj ʿumān''; fa, دریای عمان ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ar, خلیج مکران ''khalīj makrān''; fa, دریای مکرا ...
.
One of the largest-scale developments in the Middle East, the Al Madina A'Zarqa represented an investment of between $15–$20 billion. The first round of financing was secured through the issuing of a bond note by
Bear Stearns
The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was a New York-based global investment bank, securities trading and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 as part of the global financial crisis and recession, and was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chase. The compa ...
on international markets raising US$925 million. The note was rated Baa3 by ratings agency
Moody's
Moody's Investors Service, often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its historical name. Moody's Investors Service provides international ...
in March, 2007, following on from a BBB− rating by
Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings Inc. is an American credit rating agency and is one of the " Big Three credit rating agencies", the other two being Moody's and Standard & Poor's. It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) ...
when the note was issued. Bear Stearns was subsequently awarded "Middle East Leisure Deal of the Year 2006" by Project Finance for the arranging of the Blue City note.
The organization behind the project was Al Sawadi Investment & Tourism Company (ASIT) which had the endorsement of the government of Oman to bring the development to life.
International involvement
The project was financed by the U.S. financial group
Oppenheimer. The Oppenheimer company itself became embroiled in controversy, as it was forced to admit that it has no involvement with the Oppenheimer fortune of South Africa.
"There is more money available here for investment but we did not want to bring in money from the
Gulf region
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body ...
. We wanted to be different, so we looked at European and American collaboration and that is good for the country in general. It is good for rating when investors come in from the United States, Britain, or Germany. Our project has helped the rating of the government because of the way we dealt with this", says Mr. Issa.
Expected completion
The project was expected to be completed by 2020. In 2010 the project was close to liquidation,
until eventually it was bought in 2012 by the
Oman sovereign wealth fund and then closed down.
References
{{Reflist
Populated places in Oman