Shepherd's Bush £127m replica to be built in Middle Eastern desert by Omani Sheikh

Recent years have seen increasing numbers of tourists choosing to visit the country, and Oman’s tourism strategy is now aiming to attract more than five million tourists a year to the country

The Al Araimi Boulevard is being dubbed the Westfield of Oman (Al Raid Group )

A London-loving Sheikh plans to bring a slice of London to the Middle East by building a £127m mini replica of Shepherd’s Bush in Oman, complete with Westfield mall and English style landscaping.

The Al Araimi Boulevard, dubbed the Westfield of Oman, is being built just a few kilometres from the centre of the capital Muscat and is due for completion in September next year.

Sheikh Fahad Abdullah Al Araimi is the chief executive of Al Raid Group, the Omani development company behind the project. He and his family have a residence in Knightsbridge and spend most of their leisure time in West London.

The new development will be set over two floors spread across 147,200 square metres. The mall will house the biggest food court and the largest glass atrium in Oman and will provide 70,500 square metres of leasable area, according to the developers.

In a press release, the Sheikh described the site as a “world-class shopping and entertainment destination” designed to “revolutionise” the shopping and leisure experience.

“We strongly believe that spending quality time with family and friends is one of life’s great pleasures, and with this philosophy in mind we have created Al Araimi Boulevard as an exceptional lifestyle destination created to bring people together in enjoyment,” he said.

Earlier this year Consero, a British property developer best known for designing and building mansions in Surrey, announced that it had entered into a joint venture with Al Raid Group.

The companies together plan to develop up to £300m of luxury residential property in the style of Kensington’s Phillimore estate, across Oman and the wider Middle East over the next five years.

In a joint press release at the time, the two companies said that the Oman property market is estimated to be worth $3.6bn (£2.9bn) per year.