Omani Overture

Yasser ba Omar is working hand in hand with FM consultant, Linda Engstrom of Davis Langdon.

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The Royal Opera House in Muscat has turned a lot of heads since it was first announced in 2001 and, 10 years on, the project is progressing smoothly towards its targeted grand opening in October 2011.

When complete, the opera house will be only the second of its kind in the Middle East and occupy an area of 80,000m², half of which will be set aside for landscaped gardens. It will also have a mini-theatre, restaurants and stores.

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The only other opera house in the region is in Cairo, established in 1988.
Yasser ba Omar, director of facilities management, was appointed by His Excellency the Head of Royal Estates, which developed the project, in September 2008.

He got the job because he had experience of running palaces to royal standards, and a masters degree in FM.

“I wasn’t nervous about getting the job because I have plenty of experience.in this industry,” he said.

I started my career as a building services engineer in 2001, first for a Royal Palace in Oman, and later in the Royal Court Ministers villa,” he said.

“I also worked at His Majesty’s main Presidential Palace, starting during the last year of construction, through handover to operation steady-state, where I stayed on for four years.

“There is also an auditorium there which gave me some experience in terms of managing large events.

“I am proud to be the first Omani to have an MSc degree in FM. I studied in the UK for six years, including a final year at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland, obtaining my masters degree.

“I don’t believe the Royal Opera House is something just any FM could do; significant experience is required and I am very pleased to have the support of Royal Estates. The Royal Opera House development requires both new practices and previous experience and expertise. I am very proud to be a part of it.”

Designed by WATG and commissioned by opera-loving Sultan Qaboos, the building imitates an Italian-style opera house but sits in the surroundings of Muscat’s diplomatic quarter alongside a number of government buildings, including the foreign ministry.

Iman Hindawi, general director of the Royal Opera House in Muscat, told AFP in an interview last year that the opera house was originally supposed to be finished in time for the 40th anniversary of Sultan Qaboos rule, in 2010, but that “construction is proceeding in an appropriate pace and it will be ready by October 2011,”

The project is months away from a soft opening, with less than a year left to the Grand Opening said ba Omar.