On a spit of land one hour’s drive from Muscat, Oman’s largest real estate development faces a crunch period as it seeks to revitalise slow sales and kick-start a construction programme after planners were forced to redesign the masterplan for the project.

The Blue City development, launched in 2005, has faced legal rumblings, management changes and the redesign of the original “substandard” masterplan, but the new chief executive insists it can still meet the 2012 completion date for the first phase.