Galfar Engineering and Contracting SAOG was founded by Dr. Salim Said Al Fannah Al Araimi, Sheikh Mohamed Rashid Al Fannah Al Araimi and Dr. P. Mohamed Ali. Galfar Engineering is known as one of the largest engineering, contracting and construction companies in the Sultanate of Oman. Its headquarters is situated in Ghala, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. An article in The Economic Times claims it to be one of the top five engineering contractors across the Gulf. [1] It was established in January 1972. It has a turnover of US$1 billion. [2] Galfar employs over 23,000 workers, only in Oman, with more than 7,000 different kinds of plant and equipment. [3]
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. Formerly a maritime empire, Oman is the oldest continuously independent state in the Arab world. Located in a strategically important position at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the country shares land borders with the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest, and shares maritime borders with Iran, and Pakistan. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam exclaves are surrounded by the UAE on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries. Muscat is its capital and largest city.
Muscat is the capital city and is the most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was 1.4 million as of September 2018. The metropolitan area spans approximately 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi) and includes six provinces called wilayats. Known since the early 1st century AD as an important trading port between the west and the east, Muscat was ruled by various indigenous tribes as well as foreign powers such as the Persians, the Portuguese Empire, the Iberian Union and the Ottoman Empire at various points in its history. A regional military power in the 18th century, Muscat's influence extended as far as East Africa and Zanzibar. As an important port-town in the Gulf of Oman, Muscat attracted foreign tradesmen and settlers such as the Persians and the Balochis. Since the ascension of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan of Oman in 1970, Muscat has experienced rapid infrastructural development that has led to the growth of a vibrant economy and a multi-ethnic society. Muscat is termed as a Beta - Global City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Qaboos bin Said Al Said was the Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death in 2020. A fifteenth-generation descendant of the founder of the House of Al Busaid, he was the longest-serving leader in the Middle East and Arab world at the time of his death.
The Omani territory of Madha or Wādī Madḥāʾ is an exclave of the Musandam Governorate, enclaved by the United Arab Emirates (UAE); inside it, there is a second-order enclave: Nahwa, which is part of the UAE Emirate of Sharjah. Madha is located halfway between the Musandam Peninsula and the rest of Oman.
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is the leading exploration and production company in the Sultanate of Oman. The Company delivers the majority of the country's crude oil production and natural gas supply. The Company is owned by the Government of Oman, Royal Dutch Shell (34%), Total (4%) and Partex (2%). The first economic oil find was made in 1962, and the first oil consignment was exported in 1967.
Oman Air is the national airline of Oman. Based at Muscat International Airport in Seeb, Muscat; it operates domestic and international passenger services, as well as regional air taxi and charter flights.
The Indian School Al-Ghubra (ISG) is an independent, co-educational private day school located in the city of Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman. The school was founded in July 1990 by Indian born Omani businessman P Mohamed Ali, the managing director of Galfar Engineering and Contracting.
The German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) is a private university in Halban, Oman. It was established in 2007 in Muscat in collaboration with RWTH Aachen University in Germany, one of the leading and top-ranked universities of technology in Europe. GUtech was one of the first universities in Oman to receive international accreditation for all its BSc and BEng programs. In the Academic Year 2019 more than 2200 students were enrolled in GUtech's programs.
The National Museum of the Sultanate of Oman is a museum located in Oman. It was developed by the Ministry of Culture and opened to the public in 2016.
India–Oman relations are foreign relations between the Republic of India and the Sultanate of Oman. India has an embassy in Muscat, Oman. An Indian consulate was opened in Muscat in February 1955 which was upgraded to a consulate general in 1960 and later into a full-fledged embassy in 1971. The first ambassador of India arrived in Muscat in 1973. Oman established its embassy in New Delhi in 1972 and a consulate general in Mumbai in 1976. India and Oman have had trade and people-to-people ties for several millennia. Oman is home to a large Indian expatriate community and for Oman, India is an important trading partner. Politically, Oman has been supportive of India's bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.
Malaysia–Oman relations refers to the bilateral relationship between Malaysia and Oman. Malaysia has an embassy in Muscat, and Oman has an embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Infibeam Avenues Limited is an Indian multinational financial technology company which offers enterprise digital payment solution globally under the brand name CCAvenue and enterprise e-commerce software platform ('marketplace') services to businesses across various industry verticals and government.
P Mohamed Ali, popularly known as Galfar Mohamed Ali is a non-resident Indian businessman hailing from Thalikulam in Thrissur. He is the founder of Galfar Engineering and Contracting Co. Ali is ranked as the twelfth richest Indian in the Persian Gulf region by Arabian Business.com. The Oman Government has awarded "Civil Order Grade Three" to him for the contribution to the country.
The Foreign Ministry is the government body in the Sultanate of Oman responsible for organising and directing Oman's relationships with other countries and with regional and international organisations.
Oman Tourism Development Company OMRAN Group was established in 2005 by the Government as the executive arm of the Sultanate responsible for delivering the objectives contained in the 2040 National Tourism Strategy. OMRAN works closely with the Ministry of Tourism and other Government entities to identify priorities, projects and opportunities that will maximise the potential of the Sultanate’s tourism sector.
Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed Al Barwani is an Omani billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman of MB Holding Group of companies, which operate in oil and gas exploration and production, oilfield services, engineering and mining.
Dr. Salem Ben Nasser Al-Ismaily is an Omani advisor at the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Al-Ismaily was previously the chairman and chief executive officer of the Sultanate of Oman Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development, or Ithraa. Al Ismaily has been conferred by the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, the second class order of Oman and by Qaboos bin Said bin Taimur, the late Sultan of Oman, the third and the second class orders of Oman.
Al Maha Petroleum Products Marketing Company, also known as Al Maha, is a petroleum company based in Oman. The company is named for the Arabian Oryx.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Oman is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Oman on 24 February 2020 when two citizens tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from Iran. As of 21 August 2021, the total number of cases registered in the sultanate is 300,914, of which 289,450 have recovered and 4,020 have died. Initially, the majority of the cases and deaths occurred in the expatriate community. By July 2020, as the pandemic entered its fourth month in the country, the majority of the cases and deaths had occurred among the citizens.