Indian contractor Shapoorji Pallonji International has started work on a $39m community mall in Oman.

The My City Centre Sur, being developed by the UAE’s Majid al-Futtaim Properties (MAF), is located in Oman’s Sur area and is set for completion in 2018.

The shopping centre will offer 16,500 square metres of gross leasable retail space, including a 6,800 square metre Carrefour Hypermarket.

The project is part of the developer’s plans to increase its investments in Oman to a total of $1.8bn by 2020. MAF’s investments include the Mall of Oman and City Centre Sohar.

In September last year, MAF received bids from at least five groups for the estimated $715m contract to build the Mall of Oman project.

The contract has not yet been awarded. However, the company recently appointed the local Sarooj Construction as the contractor for enabling and highways works on the project.