Foundation work is set to start on site.
Beachfront Paradise
01 December 2002
Foundation work is set to start this month on the Barr Al Jissah resort, a multi-million-dollar tourism development located on the Gulf of Oman about 12 km south of Muscat City centre.
The beachfront property, set upon a 500,000 sq m area with a backdrop of coastal jebels and wadis, has received a major boost with the government of Oman taking a 40 per cent stake in the project, owned by the promoter Zubair Zubair Enterprises.
The local Tarmac-Alawi (Oman), which is carrying out the first package on the project - the enabling works - has just been appointed to carry out the foundation work on the development.
Under enabling works, launched in May, the Tarmac-Alawi is responsible for the earthworks, roads, temporary facilities, and a tunnel.
A further 13 tender packages are yet to be awarded with Zubair Enterprises, subsidiary of the Zubair Corporation, intending to open the resort in late 2005. The client has picked Hong Kong's Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts to run the resort.
The project has divided into the following packages:
CP-1 - Enabling works and waintenance, which includes earthworks, site-wide services distribution, temporary offices, engineering/locker building, and works necessary to begin proper construction of the works following completion of the access road February 2003;
CP-2: Hotel foundation involving the substructure works for all hotels;
CP-3: Central utilities - all central plant and associated works;
CP-4: General contract(s) - this package is to be tendered with an option to bid one or all three hotels;
CP-5: Building services - nominated subcontract for all building services outside of the central utilities compound;
CP-6: Elevators;
CP-7: Nursery and landscape;
CP-8: Finishes - nominated subcontract for all front of house finishes;
CP-9: Finishes (hotel rooms) - all hotel rooms finishes;
CP-10: Loose furnishings;
CP-11: Spa and health club.
CP-12: Breakwater - provisional package for breakwater work s.
CP-13: HEOS - s upply of hotel equipment and operating supplies.
CP-14: Permanent power - provisional package for providing permanent power to the site and construction of the 33kv substation.
CP-15: Specialty restaurants - nominated subcontract for fit-out of the specialty restaurants.
The development will feature three hotels - Castle, Town and Village - with about 680 rooms, a modern spa and health club, swimming pools and leisure facilities including a relaxing water ride, all situated within 200,000 sq m of landscaped grounds.
Given its rather remote setting, the resort will be almost entirely self-sufficient with its own 33 kV sub-station, reverse-osmosis fresh water plant, sewage treatment plant, industrial laundry, chiller plant, standby power generation system, and waste management facilities.
Hotels
The Castle Hotel, perched on an elevated plateau above the rest of the resort, will offer a combination of 179 keys, dining facilities, exclusive swimming pools, elite fitness facilities, and a private beach. With commanding views of the ocean and surrounding landscape, this five-star-plus hotel is expected to set the standard for luxury hotels within Oman.
Situated along the main beach area, the Town Hotel will be the heart of the resort. This five-star facility, which will have 200 rooms, is expected to be the embodiment of a seaside town with Omani architecture. The hotel will have tropical landscaping, a 1,500 sq m ballroom and prefunction area, nine meeting rooms, swimming pools and sundecks, a poolside amphitheatre, and tennis courts.
The four-star Town Hotel will be located close to a 3,000 sq m world-class spa and health club, featuring saunas, steam rooms, plunge pools, fitness equipment, and private treatment facilities.
At the eastern edge of the resort, separated from the Town and Castle hotels by a steep and narrow jebel, the Village Hotel offers a secluded setting for families. The four-star facility will have a total of 301 rooms. The Village is also set in a tropical landscape, with a beachside seafood restaurant, children's play areas, swimming pools, and a "lazy river" water ride.
External works
Of the 500,000 sq m plot area, only 230,000 sq m is to be developed, as the balance area is mountainous jebel. The area to be developed is split into the following categories:
The soft landscaped external works have been designed to reflect the respective hotels they enfold and will comprise generally of trees, palms, shrubs and grass.
The hard landscaping will again reflect the respective hotels and utilise various types of hard finishes such as concrete paving, clay paving, coloured concrete, natural stone sets and marble.
The pool areas have been detailed separately. The pool in the Village Hotel is linked to the one at the Town Hotel with the two-direction "lazy river" which includes waterfalls and tunnels.
The project will also include a cultural area, a multi-purpose arena for various functions that will also present some archaeological artifacts from the site. The resort is also keen to maintain an on-site plant nursery and palm/date grove as a guest attraction as well as an operational centre.
Utilities
A central utilities compound will house all central plant and utilities that support the hotel including engineering/locker building, chiller and reverse osmosis building, boiler room, fire protection pump room, emergency standby generators, central laundry, 33 kV substation, sewage treatment plant and waste collection and management.
Key players
The project management contractor is Turner Construction International (US). Cost management services are being provided by Hanscomb & Company (Canada). The lead designer is Wimberly, Allison, Tong, & Goo (UK/US), executive architect and engineer is WS Atkins International (UK), interior designer is Wilson & Associates (Singapore) and the landscape architecture is Derek Lovejoy Partnership (UK).
