Leading Omani developer Omagine is currently in discussion with a major Qatari bank to secure funding for the first phase of its ambitious mixed-use tourism and real estate project in Muscat estimated to cost $2.5 billion, said a report.

The company’s US-based majority shareholder, Omagine Inc, stated in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it has received a term sheet from the unnamed Qatari lender setting out the terms covering the provision of $25 million loan to finance the first phase of the project, reported the Oman Observer.

The scope of work in the first phase includes the masterplanning, design, engineering and construction work necessary for vertical construction besides the administrative, financial and marketing activities for the implementation of Omagine LLC’s business plan, it noted.

The work on Phase One is likely to start over the next 10 to 12 months, it added.

“Depending upon the availability of the necessary financing, the First Phase can begin in a few weeks. (Omagine) LLC is attempting to arrange the Qatari Bank Loan to finance the First Phase," said the report citing a company spokesperson.

The lavish development, which will adorn the waterfront at Seeb, is proposed to feature a mix of hotels, retail shops, restaurants, office space, open air amphitheatre and stage, exhibition venues, harbour and marina, and more than 2,000 residential units.

The centrepiece is a high culture theme park consisting of seven pearl-shaped buildings each with a different theme, such as the Innovation Pearl, The Energy Pearl, and the Culture Pearl.

The pearls will feature motion ride experiences, simulations, games, interactive demonstrations, and possibly a planetarium and aquarium.

New York headquartered Omagine Inc has a 60 per cent shareholding in Omagine LLC, which is also owned by Royal Court Affairs of Oman (25 per cent), and two subsidiaries of Consolidated Contractors International Company SAL (15 per cent).