Alef Qurum Residence is a boutique residential building of just 32 apartments arranged across five dedicated residential floors, rising inside Telal Al Qurm — the Integrated Tourism Complex taking shape between Wattayah and Qurum, in one of Muscat’s most established addresses. It is developed by Rozal Development, an Omani builder active in the capital since 2006, with completion scheduled for the second quarter of 2029. Of the 32 residences, 26 remain available.
Two things distinguish this project from most of what is currently sold in Muscat, and both are worth stating up front. The first is scale, or rather the deliberate lack of it: 32 homes across five floors works out to between six and seven apartments per floor, with a separate residential entrance and lift core kept entirely distinct from the eleven commercial units at ground level. This is a small building by design, and low density is the product. The second is that, unlike a great deal of inland Muscat stock, the freehold position here is not ambiguous. Telal Al Qurm secured an Integrated Tourism Complex licence, announced on 15 July 2024, from the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism — the designation that opens full freehold ownership to non-Omani buyers. That is a materially stronger legal footing than the technology-park and suburban developments we have reviewed elsewhere in the capital.
| Project name | Alef Qurum Residence |
| Developer | Rozal Development (Muscat, since 2006) |
| Master community | Telal Al Qurm — Integrated Tourism Complex |
| Location | Between Wattayah and Qurum, Muscat Governorate |
| Coordinates | 23.5991° N, 58.5020° E (Plus Code HGX2+MQ4) |
| Property type | Apartments — 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms |
| Total residences | 32 across 5 residential floors |
| Available now | 26 |
| Apartment sizes | 62.6 – 128.0 m² (674 – 1,378 sq ft) |
| Commercial units | 11 on the ground floor |
| Entry price | From $111,800 (approx. OMR 42,990) |
| Completion | Q2 2029 |
| Sales status | Primary (direct from developer) |
| Payment plan | OMR 2,000 booking, 20% down, 10 quarterly instalments of 6.5%, 15% on completion |
| Service charge | OMR 5 per m² |
| Parking | One dedicated space per residence (ground and underground) |
| Title basis | Freehold — Telal Al Qurm holds an ITC licence (announced 15 July 2024) |
Because Telal Al Qurm is a licensed Integrated Tourism Complex, a non-Omani buyer can hold outright freehold title here in the same way as at Al Mouj, Muscat Bay or AIDA. ITC designation is the mechanism that makes this possible; outside it, foreign individuals in Oman are generally restricted to usufruct, long leases or ownership through an Omani company. The licence announcement of 15 July 2024 covers a 164,900 m² site, of which roughly 49,920 m² is given over to roads, gardens and walkways.
The developer’s brochure states that the project offers freehold ownership “along with residency status.” That is true, but the phrase covers two very different permits, and conflating them is the single most common error in Omani property marketing. Here is the honest position:
| Route | What it requires | What it gives you | Alef Qurum? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner Visa (ROP Decision 87/2026) | Property ownership — no minimum value | Sponsor-free residency, 6 months to 1 year, renewable; stay up to 3 months per entry; extends to spouse and first-degree relatives | Yes — any unit qualifies |
| Golden Residency | OMR 200,000 in ITC real estate | 10-year renewable residency | No — not on a single apartment |
This distinction matters a great deal at Alef Qurum Residence, because the most expensive apartment in the building is roughly OMR 90,000 — well under half the Golden Residency threshold. The arithmetic:
| Unit | Price (USD) | Price (OMR) | Versus the OMR 200,000 Golden Residency threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-bedroom (from) | $111,800 | OMR 42,987 | Short by OMR 157,013 |
| 2-bedroom (from) | $169,000 | OMR 64,980 | Short by OMR 135,020 |
| 3-bedroom (from) | $234,100 | OMR 90,011 | Short by OMR 109,989 |
So: buy here and you can expect the Owner Visa — a genuine, sponsor-free residence permit tied to your ownership, renewable, covering your spouse and first-degree relatives, and cancelled automatically if you sell. That is a real benefit and for many buyers it is entirely sufficient. But if your objective is the 10-year Golden Residency, a single apartment at Alef will not reach the OMR 200,000 bar — you would need roughly three units, or you should be looking at higher-value ITC stock such as the Residences at Mandarin Oriental in Shatti Al Qurum or the villa product at Al Mina, Barr Al Jissah. Confirm the qualifying route in writing before you commit, and have an independent Omani lawyer verify the title designation of your specific unit at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning.
Most listings for this project quote only a price range. The developer’s floor plans actually define eight distinct apartment types, and because the building is small it is possible to set out the entire inventory precisely. The two lower residential floors carry seven apartments each; the three upper floors carry six, with the larger Type H replacing the two compact one-bedroom layouts.
| Type | Size | Beds | Baths | Balconies | Floors | Units in building |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type E | 62.60 m² (674 sq ft) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1st, 2nd | 2 |
| Type F | 66.70 m² (718 sq ft) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1st, 2nd | 2 |
| Type A | 88.25 m² (950 sq ft) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1st–4th, PH | 5 |
| Type B | 91.80 m² (988 sq ft) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1st–4th, PH | 5 |
| Type G | 92.35 m² (994 sq ft) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1st–4th, PH | 5 |
| Type D | 103.10 m² (1,110 sq ft) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1st–4th, PH | 5 |
| Type C | 124.00 m² (1,335 sq ft) | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1st–4th, PH | 5 |
| Type H | 128.00 m² (1,378 sq ft) | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3rd, 4th, PH | 3 |
That gives a building-wide mix of 4 one-bedroom, 20 two-bedroom and 8 three-bedroom apartments — 32 in total, which reconciles exactly with the developer’s headline figure. The weighting is decisive: nearly two-thirds of the building is two-bedroom stock, which tells you the intended resident is a couple or a small family rather than a single professional or a large household.
A few details worth drawing out of the plans. Types E, F and G include a dedicated study — unusual at this size, and genuinely useful. Type A is the only apartment with no balcony, which is worth knowing before you buy the cheapest two-bedroom in the building. Type C offers two balconies and four bathrooms across three bedrooms, making it the most generously serviced layout. And Types E and F exist only on the first and second floors, so the one-bedroom product is limited to four apartments in the entire development — if that is what you want, availability is genuinely scarce rather than rhetorically scarce.
The marketing data sheet lists the size range as 246 – 1,378 sq ft. The upper figure is correct — it is Type H at 128 m². The lower figure is not an apartment. Cross-referencing the ground-floor plan, 246 sq ft (about 23 m²) corresponds to one of the small ground-floor retail units, not a residence. The smallest apartment in the building is Type E at 674 sq ft. If you have seen this project advertised as starting from 246 sq ft, that listing is mixing the commercial and residential schedules.
| Configuration | From (size) | Price (USD) | Price (OMR) | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-bedroom | 674 sq ft (Type E) | $111,800 | OMR 42,987 | $166 |
| 2-bedroom | 950 sq ft (Type A) | $169,000 | OMR 64,980 | $178 |
| 3-bedroom | 1,335 sq ft (Type C) | $234,100 | OMR 90,011 | $175 |
All conversions use 1 OMR = 2.6008 USD. The pricing is tight and internally consistent — roughly $166 to $178 per square foot across the range, with the one-bedroom the cheapest per foot and the two-bedroom carrying a modest premium. For an ITC-designated freehold address in central Muscat, that is competitive: it sits well below branded waterfront product and roughly in line with the better inland schemes, while offering a title basis the inland schemes cannot match.
One anomaly to note. The data sheet records a February 2026 starting price of OMR 44,500 — about $115,736 at today’s rate — against a current entry price of $111,800, or OMR 42,987. That is a decrease of roughly OMR 1,500 (3.4%) rather than the increase you would normally expect from an off-plan project as it moves through its sales cycle. It may reflect a different unit, a promotional adjustment, or simply a repricing. It is not alarming at this magnitude, but it is worth asking the developer directly what changed, and requesting the price history for the specific unit you are considering.
The structure is conventional for Oman and considerably more front-loaded than the post-handover plans appearing elsewhere in the market:
| Stage | Share | 1-bed ($111,800) | 2-bed ($169,000) | 3-bed ($234,100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On booking | OMR 2,000 fixed | ~$5,202 | ~$5,202 | ~$5,202 |
| Down payment | 20% | $22,360 | $33,800 | $46,820 |
| Quarterly × 10 | 6.5% each (65% total) | $7,267 each | $10,985 each | $15,217 each |
| On completion | 15% | $16,770 | $25,350 | $35,115 |
Ten quarterly instalments span two and a half years, and with handover set for Q2 2029 the schedule fits comfortably inside the construction period — meaning you finish paying at completion, not years afterwards. Some buyers prefer that; it avoids carrying instalments on a home you already occupy. Others will note that a post-handover plan preserves liquidity for longer. Confirm whether the OMR 2,000 booking fee is deducted from the 20% down payment or sits on top of it, and ask for the instalment schedule with actual calendar dates before signing.
If you would rather finance conventionally, Omani banks lend to non-resident buyers at loan-to-value ratios of around 70% at rates near 6.00% per annum; the Central Bank of Oman publishes prevailing benchmarks. Budget separately for the property transfer fee of about 3% that applies to foreign buyers, plus legal and registration costs.
The service charge is OMR 5 per square metre. Applied to the actual unit sizes, that produces a predictable annual bill:
| Type | Size | Indicative service charge |
|---|---|---|
| Type E (1-bed) | 62.60 m² | OMR 313 |
| Type A (2-bed) | 88.25 m² | OMR 441 |
| Type D (2-bed) | 103.10 m² | OMR 516 |
| Type C (3-bed) | 124.00 m² | OMR 620 |
| Type H (3-bed) | 128.00 m² | OMR 640 |
Confirm in writing that OMR 5 per m² is an annual rate and not a monthly one — the distinction is the difference between OMR 441 and OMR 5,292 a year on a two-bedroom, and marketing sheets are not always explicit. Ask also whether the figure is capped or indexed, and what it covers: with a pool, a gym, 24/7 security and a staffed lobby in a building of only 32 apartments, the fixed costs are shared across a small number of owners, which is the structural trade-off of boutique living.
The building is the most visually distinctive element of the proposition. The elevation is composed of sweeping white ribbon bands that curve across the façade and drop down the corner in a continuous line, infilled with grey stone-effect panels, light wood-effect cladding and perforated Arabesque screens that filter light and provide privacy to the balconies behind. Windows are floor-to-ceiling. At night the ribbons are lit from beneath, and the ground-floor retail frontage is glazed and signed.
Interiors are handed over finished in a light neutral palette — wood and stone-effect materials, large-format porcelain floor tiles, and integrated kitchens with stone-look worktops and waterfall island ends in the show renders. The lobby is a double-height space with a reception area. This is a genuinely finished product rather than a shell, which matters for budgeting: in much of the Omani off-plan market, fit-out is a substantial additional line item.
The building presents its main entrance to Telal Al Qurm’s community entrance, with the side elevation facing the boulevard and the park — so the apartments on that flank have the green outlook, and it is worth asking which units face which way before choosing.
| Facility | Detail |
|---|---|
| Indoor swimming pool | Ground floor, residents only, screened from outside view |
| Fully equipped gym | Adjacent to the pool on the ground floor |
| Grand lobby | Double-height entrance lobby with reception |
| Security | 24/7 security and surveillance, staffed guard room |
| Access control | Controlled resident access, separate from the commercial entrance |
| Parking | One dedicated space per residence, ground and underground |
The amenity list is short, and deliberately so — this is a 32-unit building, not a resort. What it does provide is the set that residents actually use daily. The indoor pool is the notable inclusion: in a climate where outdoor water is unusable for a good part of the year, an enclosed, shaded pool is more valuable than a larger open one, and screening it from external view is a meaningful privacy decision in this market. Note that the pool and gym sit on the ground floor beside the retail units, so ask about acoustic separation between the commercial frontage and the residential core.
The ground floor is given over to 11 commercial units ranging from roughly 21 m² to 51 m², arranged along the street frontage with their own entrances, signage zone and visitor parking. The residential lobby, lift core and amenities are kept separate, so residents do not pass through the retail parade to reach their homes.
For an investor this is worth a second look. Small retail units in a community that will eventually hold more than 1,500 apartments, 46 townhouses, 190 serviced apartments and two hotels have a captive catchment, and Telal Al Qurm is being built out over a long horizon — the early retail operators inside a maturing masterplan are usually the ones who secure the best pitches. If commercial rather than residential is your interest, compare this with The Pearl Muscat Hills retail units and with Central 7 in Knowledge Oasis. Do ask, though, whether the commercial units carry the same freehold designation as the apartments, since ITC treatment of commercial space is not always identical to residential.
Telal Al Qurm sits in the corridor between Wattayah and Qurum, bridging Ruwi and Seeb, with access via the Muscat Expressway, Sultan Qaboos Street and Al Nahdah Street. This is genuinely central Muscat — an established, low-congestion, high-amenity part of the capital rather than a new suburb, which is precisely why the ITC designation here is valuable.
The two source documents give different drive times for the same destinations, so we show both rather than picking the flattering one:
| Destination | Developer brochure | Sales data sheet |
|---|---|---|
| The Sultan Center, Al Qurum | 3 min | — |
| Qurum / Al Qurum Park | 11 min | 8 min |
| Opera Galleria Shopping Centre | — | 10 min |
| Royal Opera House Muscat | — | 10 min |
| Our Planet International School | — | 11 min |
| Al Sahwa School | — | 13 min |
| British School Muscat | — | 13 min |
| Mutrah Souq | — | 13 min |
| Ras Al Hamra Golf Club | 14 min | — |
| Shatti Al Qurum Beach | 15 min | — |
| Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque | — | 18 min |
| Al Fair Supermarket | — | 19 min |
| Al Alam Palace | — | 22 min |
| Muscat International Airport | 25 min | 30 min |
The two material disagreements are the park (8 versus 11 minutes) and Muscat International Airport (25 versus 30 minutes). Neither gap changes the case for the location, but if a specific journey matters to you, drive it at the hour you would actually be travelling. What is not in dispute is the calibre of the surroundings: the Royal Opera House Muscat, Qurum Natural Park, Shatti Al Qurum beach, the Ras Al Hamra golf course and three international schools are all inside a 15-minute radius, and the Sultan Center is three minutes away.
Alef Qurum Residence is a single building inside a much larger scheme, and prospective buyers should understand the scale of what is coming. Telal Al Qurm covers about 165,000 m² at a reported cost in the region of OMR 230 million, and is planned to include more than 1,500 apartments, 46 townhouses, 190 serviced apartments, two four-star hotels, an aqua park, a cinema complex and extensive retail — delivered in phases over roughly 15 years.
That cuts both ways, and honestly. On the positive side, you are buying into an ITC whose amenity base will deepen substantially over your ownership period, with hotels, entertainment and retail arriving around you — the kind of maturation that supports values. On the other side, a 15-year phased build-out means construction activity in the vicinity for a long time after your own handover in 2029. Ask for the phasing plan, find out what is scheduled on the plots immediately adjacent to your elevation, and factor that into which side of the building you choose.
Rozal Development has operated in Muscat’s construction and property development market since 2006, offering end-to-end delivery from concept and architectural planning through construction, interior design and handover. The company reports a portfolio of more than 80 properties, concentrated on residential work, and names Muna Hills, Parkside Villas and Yass Al Azaiba among its projects.
The strengths are a long local track record — twenty years in one city is meaningful — and in-house delivery across the whole chain, which tends to produce better finish control than a purely financial developer outsourcing everything. Two things to check. First, the company’s own website currently lists this project only as “ITC Project” rather than by the Alef Qurum Residence name, so ask for documentation that ties the brand to the entity you are contracting with. Second, as with any off-plan purchase in Oman, confirm that buyer funds are held in a regulated escrow account, ask for addresses of completed Rozal buildings you can visit in person, and read the delay-compensation clause rather than assuming one exists — a Q2 2029 handover is more than three years away.
| Development | Setting | Title | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alef Qurum Residence | Telal Al Qurm, central Muscat | ITC freehold | 32-unit boutique building, from $111,800 |
| Residences at Mandarin Oriental | Shatti Al Qurum | ITC freehold | Branded luxury, same district, far higher ticket |
| Bellevue, Al Mouj | Coastal, marina | ITC freehold | Premium apartments, golf and marina |
| Azura Beach Residences | Al Mouj beachfront | ITC freehold | Beachfront apartments |
| Muscat Bay | Coastal coves | ITC freehold | Completed villas and apartments |
| Opal Residences, Muscat Hills | Inland, golf | ITC freehold | Golf-course apartments |
| Solaris, Jebel Sifah | Coastal resort | ITC freehold | Marina apartments |
| Uptown Muscat | Knowledge Oasis, inland | Madayn estate — not an ITC | Mid-market apartments by universities |
| Yenaier Residences | Sultan Haitham City | New capital district | Mid-market smart-city homes |
| The Sustainable City — Yiti | Yiti valley | ITC freehold | Net-zero homes |
The instructive comparison is with Uptown Muscat. Both are inland mid-market apartment schemes at broadly similar prices per square foot. The difference is the legal framework: Uptown sits in a Madayn technology estate where foreign freehold eligibility is not clearly established, while Alef sits inside a licensed ITC where it plainly is. For a foreign buyer, that distinction is worth more than most amenity lists. Buyers weighing central Muscat against the newer districts should also look at Hay Al Wafa and Jood in Sultan Haitham City.
The tenant case rests on location rather than novelty. Qurum and Wattayah are long-established expatriate and professional neighbourhoods with embassies, corporate offices, international schools and the city’s best-known retail all close by, and the supply of newly built, properly finished apartments in that specific corridor is limited — most of the housing stock is older. A well-specified two-bedroom with a dedicated parking space, an indoor pool and 24/7 security should let readily to the diplomatic, corporate and senior professional market that already lives in this part of Muscat.
Set expectations on the numbers yourself rather than taking headline yields at face value. Model net rent after the service charge, agency fees, void periods and maintenance, and remember that handover is in 2029 — you are underwriting a rental market three years out, in a district where the same masterplan will be releasing further apartments, townhouses and 190 serviced apartments over the following decade. Oman’s official population and economic statistics are published by the National Centre for Statistics and Information, and investor incentives are set out by Invest Oman. There is no personal income tax on rental income for individuals in Oman, which materially improves net returns compared with most European markets.
Oman’s capital makes a quieter case than its Gulf neighbours, and for a certain buyer that is the entire appeal. Muscat ranks among the safest cities in the world in Numbeo’s crime and safety indices; living costs sit below neighbouring Gulf capitals; and the city has kept its low-rise character and its landscape, with the Hajar mountains directly behind the built-up area and a long sweep of coast in front of it. English is used routinely in business, the international school network feeds into British and American university systems, and general information on the country is published at oman.om, with current affairs coverage via the Times of Oman.
Within that, the specific argument for Alef Qurum Residence is that it puts freehold title in a genuinely central, already-mature district — not a resort enclave half an hour outside the city, and not a suburb whose amenities are still on a drawing board. You are ten minutes from the Opera House and three from a supermarket, with an ITC deed.
UInvest Group works directly with developers across Oman, and we will give you the same assessment of a project’s weak points as its strengths. For Alef Qurum Residence we can obtain current availability from the 26 remaining apartments, unit-specific pricing in Omani rials against a named unit and floor, the full payment schedule, the floor plans for all eight types, and written confirmation of the ITC title designation and the residency route your purchase actually supports.
Get in touch to arrange a viewing, request the price list and plans, or discuss how Alef Qurum Residence compares with the other ITC-designated options in our Muscat portfolio.
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