The managing director of Dubai-based Auris Hotel Management, Hatem Gasmi, announced that his company will be opening a new four-star, 70-room hotel in Sohar within the next eight months, making it the first property outside Dubai launched by Auris.

The hotel will be located approximately 12 kilometers from Sohar’s airport and will be receiving business as well as leisure guests to the port city.

Gasmi said, "We are in the final stages of design and furnishing – everything is there. It will cater to the needs of the business traveler in Sohar."

The hotel will make a point of attracting family guests by instituting a non-alcohol policy on the premises. Business guests will be enticed with a conference area which can accommodate 200 people in two rooms; a business lounge; two restaurants; and separate health clubs for men and women.

Gasmi stated that the investments which the government made totaling $12 billion towards building up the area will turn Sohar into a “major industrial hub.”