Barka () is a coastal city and ''

Wilayah A wilayah ( or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu, Pashto and ; ) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", " province" or occasionally as " governorate". The word comes from the Arabic root "''w-l-y''", "to govern": a '' wāli''� ...

'' (

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

) in the region Al Bāţinah, in northern

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

. Bordered by the Sea of Oman and the Hajar Mountains in southern Batinah, Barka is about a half-hour drive from As- Seeb and roughly an hour's drive from Al-Khuwair and Ruwi.

History

Al Bloushi, Al-Farsi, Al Zadjali, Al Habsi, Al Ajmi, Al Owaisi, Al Amri, Al Badri and Al Raisi tribes live here. The area is known for its agricultural beauty, fishing, and traditional pastimes like horse and camel racing, halwa making, and Omani-style bullfighting.

Attractions

Nearby is Bait Na'aman (Nu'man), a four-towered fort of

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

Bil'arab bin Sultan of the

17th century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCI), to December 31, 1700 (MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized ...

, renovated in 1991. Barka Fort is a known tourist attraction. Barka Souq, near the beach is an economically important area. There are two major resorts in Barka, the Al-Sawadi resort and the Al-Nahda resort.

Economy

A new quarter is now under construction in Sawadi, called the Blue City. The development is 8 km from Sawadi beach, and many international companies are involved in Barka development projects. There is an estimated $15 billion in new construction currently taking place here. Barka is the site of several power and water plants, including: * The Barka 2 water and power plant, with generation capacity of 678 MW and desalination capacity of 26.4 million gallons of potable water per day. * The Barka 3 gas turbine power plant, with generation capacity of 744 MW, sponsored by

Engie Engie SA (stylised in all caps as ENGIE) is a French multinational electric utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie. Its activities cover electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear power, renewable energy ...

, Yonden and

Sojitz is a '' sogo shosha'' (general trading company) based in Tokyo, Japan. It is engaged in a wide range of businesses globally, including buying, selling, importing, and exporting goods, manufacturing and selling products, providing services, and p ...

. * A new 281,000 m³/d desalination plant is to be commissioned:

Itochu is a Japanese corporation based in Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka and Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo. It is one of the largest Japanese ''sogo shosha'' (general trading and investment companies) distinguished by the strength of its textil ...

, Degrémont and International Power were named preferred bidders in 2015.

The Blue City

Located on a peninsula 30 minutes from Muscat Seeb Airport, Al Madina A'Zarqa was to be a 32-square-kilometer (12 sq mi) waterfront city built along 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) of shoreline adjacent to the

Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ''khalīj ʿumān''; ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ''khalīj makrān''; ''daryâ-ye makrān''), is a gulf in the Indian Ocean that connects the Arabian Sea with th ...

. One of the largest-scale developments in the Middle East, the Al Madina A'Zarqa represented an investment of between $15 and $20 billion. The first round of financing was secured through the issuance of a bond note by

Bear Stearns The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was an American investment bank, securities trading, and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 during the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession. After its closure it was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chas ...

on international markets, raising US$925 million. The note was rated Baa3 by ratings agency

Moody's Moody's Ratings, previously and still legally known as Moody's Investors Service and often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its histo ...

in March, 2007, following on from a BBB− rating by

Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings Inc. is an American credit rating agency. It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is considered as being one of the " Bi ...

when the note was issued. Bear Stearns was subsequently awarded "Middle East Leisure Deal of the Year 2006" by Project Finance for the arranging of the Blue City note. The organization behind the project was Al Sawadi Investment & Tourism Company (ASIT) which had the endorsement of the government of Oman to bring the development to life.

History

Attractions

Economy

The Blue City

See also

References

Further reading