Salalah – The Land of Frankincense in Wadi Dawkah, Thumrait – a Unesco World Heritage Site – marked the laying of the foundation stone for the Wadi Dawkah Visitor Centre and Ain Dawkah factory project on Thursday.

The ceremony was held under the patronage of H H Sayyid Marwan bin Turki al Said, Governor of Dhofar, and attended by H E Ibrahim bin Said al Kharousi, Undersecretary for Heritage in the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.

Khalid bin Hamad al Busaidi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Amouage, said the project reflects Oman’s efforts in protecting nature and reinforces the sultanate’s presence on the global stage.

Renaud Salmon, Chief Creative Officer of Amouage, informed that the factory will extract frankincense oil from resin and is designed to allow visitors to observe the process and see how frankincense drops are transformed into essential oil.

The project is being developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism to enhance Oman’s position on the cultural tourism map and attract visitors from within the country and abroad.