Royal Haskoningof the Netherlands has been appointed to carry out marine studies on Blue City and the UK's Atkins is carrying out an environmental impact assessment. For the main construction contract on the $1,800 million first phase of the development, it is understood that about four companies have been prequalified, among them the local/UK Carillion Alawi, Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company(CCC) and South Africa's Murray & Roberts Contractors (Middle East).

The initial stage of the project covers about 8.5 square kilometres and includes five hotels, a golf community, a waterfront residential resort and a tourist village. The developer is Al-Sawadi Investment & Tourism Company, which includes the local Cyclone and Bahrain-based AAJ Holdings(MEED 10:6:05).

New York-based Alfa International has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government to invest in an estimated $700 million beachfront resort, called Journey of Light, near the Wave. Muscat will take a minority stake in the project company. The development will include hotels, residential and office units, and retail and leisure facilities.

A dredging and reclamation tender for the first phase of the Wave, a joint venture between the government and Dubai-based Majid al-Futtaim Investments, is due to be issued in four-six weeks. Prequalification has been completed for the contract, which entails the dredging of about 5 million cubic metres of material (MEED 10:6:05).