Mekunu shuts Salalah resort
Salalah Beach Resort announced yesterday that its flagship investment — Hilton Salalah Resort — has been shut following damage to the property caused by Cyclone Mekunu, which hit Dhofar Governorate at the weekend.
The company, which is listed on the Muscat Securities Market, said in a filing to the Capital Market Authority (CMA) that the hotel will remain “closed for normal operations until further notice”.
“We are currently in the process of assessing the damage and are working closely with our insurance companies. The management is confident that most of the costs / losses including Loss of Profit will be covered under our various insurance policies,” it added in the filing.
The resort is understood to be among an array of beachfront hospitality developments along the Salalah waterfront that have taken a pummelling from the storm. A combination of fierce winds, surging waves and raging floodwaters is believed to laid waste, not so much to the main buildings of these waterfront developments, as to the outdoor fixtures, such as gardens, swimming pools, landscaped areas, and so on.
Likewise, Al Fajar Al Alamia Co SAOG reported “minor” damage to its facilities in Salalah in the wake of the storm. Supplies to customers in the Dhofar area were also impacted, it noted in a separate filing.
A number of listed companies posted details of damage and operational disruptions attributed to the cyclone in response to the CMA’S circular calling upon Salalah-based listed companies to disclose these details. The list includes Raysut Cement, Sembcorp Salalah Power and Water, and Dhofar Cattle Feed. Scores of other businesses and farm owners that are not publicly listed companies have also suffered significant losses, it is learnt.
FORCE MAJEURE ALLOWS A PARTY TO A CONTRACT TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE THE PERFORMANCE OF ITS OBLIGATIONS WHEN IT IS FACED WITH CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND ITS CONTROL