Luxury living

The Malkai is a luxury resort set to grace the real estate market in Oman. With an investment of US$200-250m the development looks set to lure investors from across the globe. Kim Latham visits the sultanate to find out more.

The CEO of Al Maeen Real Estate, Mr Pankaj Khimji, welcomed us at Muscat airport. Friendly and quietly-spoken, no-one could have guessed this was the developer and promoter of luxury country club, The Malkai.

"The Malkai is a unique country club in the Arab world. You don't get country clubs in the Arab world. You get country clubs in Europe. Oman is unique because it has a little bit of agriculture," says Khimji.

The development is slated to begin in January and is scheduled to open at the end of 2010. It will feature a boutique hotel offering 41 luxury suites, 92-bedroom suites, 101 four-bedroom villas, and a country club.

"I wanted to position it in the agricultural zones. It's an area where I've grown up. We have farms, we have horses, it's close to the sea so the location inspired me," he says.

Construction on The Malkai, a combination of the names of Khimji's wife and two daughters, is located in Barka, a stone's throw away from the Al Hajar Mountains and just three km from the beach.

Properties will be sold on a freehold basis and there are no restrictions on foreign ownership. Buyers including extended family will be given visas. Another selling point of course is the 1,700km stretch of coastline, unspoilt coral, rugged mountain ranges, rich history and culture, sunshine and golf.

Al Maeen Real Estate Services, the developers of this 85,000 sq m resort that boasts 650 sq ft of livable space, has enlisted South African golfer Gary Player, said to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game, to design his first nine-hole golf course at The Malkai.

Player flew straight from the US Open for the launch.

It is three years since Khimji and Player met. They discussed the idea of a resort in Oman in a bar in Cyprus where Player received a Lifetime Achievement Award. Khimji is said to have been ‘taken aback by Player's humility.'

At the launch, the two signed a golf design contract which would have been completed earlier if only for the pair's busy schedules.

"Mr Gary Player was inaugurated today, he has done a wonderful job in terms of mind, faith and money in this proposition in Oman," says Khimji.

"I have never been on a golf course but I promise Gary that when the Malkai is finished I'll tee off with him," he jokes.