A water park in a wilayat that is suffering from water scarcity in summer seems to be an impossible one to achieve, yet a young entrepreneur in Bahla was able to make it a reality by implementing innovative ideas and getting inspiration from modern techniques. For Musab al Hinai, the owner of Al Naseem Park, it was the dream of his life.
“The water park you see now didn’t happen as it is. It started from a very simple beginning,” he shared.
“I love taking care of animals and I used to have plenty of them in my house. Then it came to my mind to start a zoo and this whole idea was turned into a unique future investment. From being a small zoo, it became an educational recreational tourism project which opened in 2017”, he added.
The recreational centre is located in Bilad Sait Village in Bahla, in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate. It’s passing through the main street that leads to the Wilayat of Al Hamra. Musab believes that good planning results in a good outcome.
The strategic location of the park makes it a pleasant stop for visitors going to Al Hamra. There are also other attractions within the area: Al Hoota Cave, Hasat Bin Salt, Misfat Al Abriyeen and Jabal Shams. If one is headed to Bahla, there’s the renowned Bahla Fort, Sur Bahla, Jabreen Castle, the archaeological village of Saloot and Saloot Castle, Nizwa Fort and other touristic places in the neighbouring villages.
Project owners have used a total of 9,000 m2 of land which they then divided into three different sections. One of those sections is dedicated to a zoo containing 70 species of animals from different countries of the world.
Animals vary between pets and predators. It also includes rare animals. “Providing a specialised staff to take care of animals, the park received special attention from His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik.
His Majesty ordered to donate several rare wild animals from his own farm, including llamas and Indian deer. This reflects His Majesty’s generosity and keenness to take care of everything that serves and develops the human being and the Omani environment,” Musab shared.
The other section is the gaming arena which contains a range of recreational games including electric outdoor and electronic indoor areas for all age groups. The area has been provided with air conditioning and security and safety measures.
Al Hinai mentioned that the closure caused by the pandemic did not adversely affect his business. In fact, it allowed him to provide a unique and rare service in Oman, namely, the establishment of a water park, which is the first of its kind in Oman.
The water park has been built in an area of 3,000 m2 of the total park. It was opened on June 17, 2021. It is also a new recreational destination for the residents of Al Dakhiliyah Governorate and tourists that offer entertaining outdoor games and some of the best quality slides and swimming pools.
While the park is built in a usually dry area suffering from low water levels especially during the summer, Musab was able to create an artificial entertainment centre that adheres to international standards and transforming it to become a major attraction in the area
. As of today, the water park also caters to specialised schedules. For instance, Saturdays from 4 to 7 pm are for women and children below 10 only. The entire staff at the water park at that time will be women employees.
Typical of other water parks, visitors are required to wear swimming clothes only taking into consideration modest clothing when entering and exiting the park. The management also has a rule that monitoring the children is the parent’s responsibility.
Under the current situation, the capacity of entry doesn’t exceed 200 people, keeping true to the 50 per cent capacity requirement mandated by the Supreme Committee. Prebooking is also a must to enter the park. Musab is proud to share that the water park is also manned by nearly all Omani well-trained staff.
Al Hinai shared that he also plans to bring the idea to Muscat setting a branch that will be enjoyable for the people.
He is still resolving some matters regarding the commercial plots and other procedures. Globally, Musab aspires to launch the largest entertainment interface in the Arabian Gulf. It will have a gaming city, a water park, a snow village and an integrated entertainment village.
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