Investment company Taameer Investment, part of the Golden Group of Companies, has signed a deal to set up a chain of hotels in Oman - the largest deal of its kind for a hotel chain operating in the sultanate.

The deal will see UAE-based hotel firm Rotana create 1,500 3-, 4- and 5-star rooms in Muscat, Sohar and Salalah by 2020, and is a strategic move by Taameer Investment to increase hospitality operations in Oman.

Rotana currently manages a portfolio of over 100 properties throughout the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe.

Suleiman bin Masood al Harthi, CEO of Taameer Investment, said: "The pact with Rotana Hotels coincides with the operation of Salalah International Airport and completing the main stages of expansion work of Muscat International Airport, which will create a qualitative leap in the number of flights coming to the sultanate. This requires doubling residence and hotel service."

A signing ceremony to complete the deal took place under the patronage of Ahmed bin Nasser bin Hamad al Mehrzi, Minister of Tourism for Oman, and in the presence of Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Abdullah al Bakri, Minister of Manpower.

According to a statement, law firm Trowers & Hamlins advised leading Taameer in the deal.