The man behind the vision of the Blue City
The title is a quote from the Oman Observer of 6th January 2006, describing Ahmed Abubaker Janahi, the Vice Chairman of Al Sawadi Investment and Tourism Company at the signing of the agreement for construction of Phase 1 of the Blue City on 6th January 2006. But it could have been taken from a press release, since the Times of Oman had a similar quote in its article of January 7th.
“Though the Blue City project would be built in Oman, the company that conceived it was a Bahraini. ‘In the wake of globalisation, there will be more and more competition and Bahrain has emerged as a model country with huge assets of human resources and intellectuals in all vital areas. The Blue City has proved the capability of Bahrain for producing a project worth billions of dollars,’ Ahmed Janahi said.”
Ahmed Janahi is therefore responsible for what has been termed the largest urban development in the Gulf region valued at $20 billion over15 years - about 80 percent of Oman's gross domestic product in 2004. That’s an awful lot of cash.
“Though the Blue City project would be built in Oman, the company that conceived it was a Bahraini. ‘In the wake of globalisation, there will be more and more competition and Bahrain has emerged as a model country with huge assets of human resources and intellectuals in all vital areas. The Blue City has proved the capability of Bahrain for producing a project worth billions of dollars,’ Ahmed Janahi said.”
Ahmed Janahi is therefore responsible for what has been termed the largest urban development in the Gulf region valued at $20 billion over15 years - about 80 percent of Oman's gross domestic product in 2004. That’s an awful lot of cash.
Of embassies and diplomatic service
A quiet, leafy street next to the sea in the upmarket suburb of Shati al Qurum, Greater Muscat, is home to the embassies and high commissions with which Oman might be reckoned to have the closest diplomatic ties. Perhaps those countries also have the wherewithal to pay the rent. At the western end is the French embassy, the architecture of which reminds one of Charles de Gaulle airport or the Pompidou Centre in Paris. At the other end of the street is the British Embassy. The British were a late arrival at this location, in early 1995 to be exact, having been obliged to quit their previous quarters in old Muscat, which was next door to the Qasr al-Alam palace.
As I recall from my only visit when singing carols there with the Muscat Singers in 1993 or 1994, the Muscat residence was in the style of an old Arab mansion, about 3 stories tall, with high ceilings, a grand staircase, an open courtyard with a fountain, wooden gates and a magnificent view of Muscat Harbour from the terrace.
As I recall from my only visit when singing carols there with the Muscat Singers in 1993 or 1994, the Muscat residence was in the style of an old Arab mansion, about 3 stories tall, with high ceilings, a grand staircase, an open courtyard with a fountain, wooden gates and a magnificent view of Muscat Harbour from the terrace.
Aflaj in Oman
Now that I have established the photo gallery, I have been sufficiently distracted to implement a long-held ambition. This was to put a selection of my photos of Omani aflaj, online. Even now there are shortcomings, in that I haven't provided a location map for the sites on display, nor have I managed to produce diagrams of the concept of ghaily, and ayni aflaj, although I have found an old diagram of a dawoodifalaj which I was able to annotate.
Aflaj (singular: falaj) are a fundamental Omani heritage, which have supported villages and communities for centuries. The village falaj was its lifeblood, literally bringing water right into the community for religious, domestic and agricultural uses. If the water supply to the falaj failed, so did the community.
Aflaj (singular: falaj) are a fundamental Omani heritage, which have supported villages and communities for centuries. The village falaj was its lifeblood, literally bringing water right into the community for religious, domestic and agricultural uses. If the water supply to the falaj failed, so did the community.
The newsBriefsOman photo gallery
The first complete album in the newsBriefsOman gallery has been put together following a request by Bowser, who felt that it would be a public tribute to Don Davison. Don, a hydrogeologist, worked in Oman from 1980 to 1994. Don took all the photos displayed in this album of the coast between Al Hajir and Wadi Misoweyah, on boat trips between January to May 1992, with the exception of the view of W. Khaban Nakhl from the cliff-top, which he obtained from Peter Gibbs. Peter Gibbs carried out field trigonometric surveying on behalf of the Ministry of Water Resouces in the first half of the 1990s.
Don has left no notes other than the cryptic comments on the photos themselves. Or rather, I have only these photos and no notes.
Don has left no notes other than the cryptic comments on the photos themselves. Or rather, I have only these photos and no notes.
How will the jobs add up?
Speaking at the end of December 2005, Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, Minister of National Economy, avowed that creating employment opportunities for Omanis was the government's 'highest' priority, (reported in Times of Oman, 1st January 2006).
He said that 410,000 expatriates were currently working in the private sector of whom 25% were in construction, and 10% in domestic service.
"In 2004, the private sector accommodated a total of 36,928 Omanis while more than 8,000 citizens benefited from self-employment opportunities offered by the Sanad programme," said Macki.
He said that 410,000 expatriates were currently working in the private sector of whom 25% were in construction, and 10% in domestic service.
"In 2004, the private sector accommodated a total of 36,928 Omanis while more than 8,000 citizens benefited from self-employment opportunities offered by the Sanad programme," said Macki.
Budgets, deficits and jobs
Two Omani bloggers have commented this week on the RO650 million deficit forecast in this year's budget. This is 18% of the total revenue estimate and 6% of GDP. Oman's Minister of National Economy, Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, owned that the deficit was large in absolute terms, but that it was unavoidable given the levels of expenditure to which the Omani government is committed in order to finance substantial infrastructure programmes as a medium-term route to sustain prosperity.
Can you say Boo to a goose?
A week or so ago, two men wearing Omani dishdasha, speaking Arabic, and carrying pistols, were said to have robbed the Purshottam Kanji Money Exchange on the corniche at Mutrah of RO15,000. The sole press report appeared in Gulf News on 30th December. I thought I could detect exasperation in the write-up since neither the Royal Oman Police, nor the manager of the exchange would provide details to the journalist. As a result, it is impossible to assert that the intruders were actually Omani.