Driving north from Oman’s capitalcity Muscat to Sohar, you comeacross a major intersection next

to the town of Barka. While the roadto the left meanders to the ruggedHajar hills, the right turn takes you tothe sparkling blue waters of theArabian Sea. Once a sleepy fishinghamlet, Barka has gradually devel-oped into a small poultry town, knownoutside only for its crates of eggs. Butsuch a marginalised status is about tochange in a major way. Omani entre-preneur Pankaj Khimji’s latest ven-ture, Malkai, promises to put this non-descript village in the top tourist des-tinations of the Sultanate.

Named fondly after his wife Malvikaand two daughters, Malkai, in Khimji’swords, sets “a new benchmark in luxu-ry living, not merely locally but global-ly.” Malkai is not being planned simplyas just another resort. It will be differ-ent from Al Sawadih or Ras Al Nahda,the two other resorts within the 50-kmrange. It is envisioned more like acountry club, with a spa and a nine-hole golf course (Oman’s first)designed by three-time master cham-pion, Gary Player.

Launched a year after the destruc-tion unleashed by the super cycloneGonu, Malkai is one of the key projectsattempting to rebuild the Sultanate.Together with four other ventures atdifferent stages of completion – TheWave, Blue City, Muscat Golf CourseProject, and Yitti project – Malkaiintends to target top-end tourists fromEurope, Asia and the United States. Allthese projects are being conceivedunder the new property clause: inte-grated tourism complexes (ITC). TheITC is a model law laying out theground for free-hold, real estate own-ership by foreigners in a country whereproperty ownership was, until recently,restricted only to citizens. Armed withsuch liberal reforms, picturesque andtranquil Oman is rebranding itself tograb the status of the hottest touristdestination in the Arabian Gulf.

Scheduled for completion by theend of 2010, the Malkai will include101 four-bedroom villas, each worth

$4 million, 92 two-bedroom suites (of$1.2 million) and a boutique hotelcontaining 41 luxury suites. Besidesthe nine-hole golf course and spa, theproject will include a main clubhouse

with two restaurants, a boutique, adelicatessen, tennis courts, a specialplayground and park for children. Thecountry club will be a merely 10-minute drive to a beach club next tothe Arabian Sea.

What was the main inspirationbehind the Malkai? “I am just trying toactualise my childhood dreams duringthe long summer vacations in Barka,where my family-owned property is,”says Khimji. The sobriety and sophisti-cation of the conventional Omaniarchitecture has influenced Khimjiwho is trained as a building construc-tion engineer from Hammersmith andWest London College. Therefore, thestructural plan of Malkai combines themost striking aspects of traditionalOmani architecture with the latest inmodern interior design.

Today, you encounter camels andmountain goats at the constructionsite. Different varieties of Indian man-goes and other indigenous plants sur-round a concrete fish tank. “Most ofthis will change but there will be nouprooting of the local flora or alien-ation of the area’s fauna,” promisesKhimji. The blueprint of the golfcourse designed by Gary Player visu-alises a desert oasis lined with datepalms and local vegetation.Undulating fairways, sand traps andtiered greens will wind their waythrough desert canyons with a largeartificial lake between holes six andseven as the centerpiece of the project.

Son of Kanaksi G Khimji, Pankaj,dressed in a spotless sparkling dis-dasha, appears as a typical soft-spokenand suave Kutcchi-Gujarati Indianbusinessman whose family has beensettled in Oman for the last five gener-ations. The Kutcchis, best described as“sugar mixed in tea, you get the tastebut yet not visible”, are one of the mostenterprising communities of India

who have firmly ensconced them-selves in businesses as far away asCalifornia in the United States, parts ofAfrica, Europe and the Gulf.

With his first venture, the Chedihotel, in Muscat’s Ghobra area,Khimji got a major head start. Thespectacular Chedi was number two inlast year’s Condé Nast Traveller’s read-ers poll of top tourist destinations tovisit. around the globe. The fact thatthe Chedi was severely damaged bythe destructive Gonu has not deterredKhimji. “Such a risk comes once inevery 50 years or so, and we are takingall precautions,” he assures. AlthoughBarka was unaffected, thanks to its

location outside the cyclone zone thatwas devastated, wadis are still beingconstructed all around.

Today, there are four natural wellson the property. They will be cappedin order to preserve the water table.Residents will rely on water from alocal desalination plant. A third of thatwater will be recycled and handed freeof charge to the fishermen of Barka tohelp them keep fresh their daily catch.Khimji has also requested the localfisher folks to offer the resort supply offresh seafood thus integrating thelocal community with the resort.

With 10,000 feet high jagged moun-tains such as Jebel Akhdar and 17,000

kms of pristine coastline, Oman is vir-tually a paradise in the middle of abeautiful desert. An atmosphere ofsimplicity and tranquility pervadesthe entire Sultanate. Projects such asthe Malkai attempt to capture thattranquility and transform it into adreamland. Khimji’s childhood dreamduring the summer vacations was tobuild something bordering on fanta-sy. The inspiration came from thespectacular Omani architecture.Today, the plan is to preserve the tra-dition, yet reinvent a modernmetaphor for luxury living. “We arenot selling real estate, we are creatinga lifestyle,” adds the dreamer.

Monday, June 16, 2008

The Malkai combines the most striking aspects of traditional Omaniarchitecture with the latest in modern interior design.

From $ 4-million villas to a salubrious spa, a nine-holegolf course to other cool comforts of a country club, theMalkai not only promises to be the dream destinationfor top-end tourists, but is also an attempt to rebrandOman, writes Qatar Tribune’s Editor Ajit Kumar Jha

A computer-generated image of the two-storeyed two-bedroom villa.

Omani entrepreneur Pankaj Khimji, who has launched Malkai.

Play House 38 Tinsel Town 39

Kashmera loves tohate Rakhi

Zits

Malkai: A metaphorfor luxury living

A computer-generated image of the four-bedroom villa, worth $4 million.