Barka, Oman

Barka Barkāʾ (بَرْكَاء) Borca
Barka Location in Oman Barka Barka (Middle East) Barka Barka (West and Central Asia)
Coordinates: 23°41′47.1″N 57°53′16.0″E
Country	Oman
Subdivision	Al Batinah South Governorate
Population  (2017)
• Total	130,000
Time zone	UTC+4:00 United Arab Emirates Standard Time

Barka (Arabic: بَرْكَاء, romanized: Barkāʾ) is a coastal city and Wilayah (Province) in the region Al Bāţinah, in northern Oman. 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

Main cities, ports and routes of the Portuguese empire in the Persian Gulf in the 16th and 17th centuries

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

Portuguese Fortress of Barka (Borca) in a 17th-century picture. In Antonio Bocarro's book of fortresses (1632).

Nearby is Bait Na'aman (Nu'man), a four-towered fort of Imam Bil'arab bin Sultan of the 17th century, 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, Yonden and Sojitz.
• A new 281,000 m³/d desalination plant is to be commissioned: Itochu, Degremont 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.

One of the largest-scale developments in the Middle East, the Al Madina A'Zarqa represented an investment of between $15–$20 billion. The first round of financing was secured through the issuance of a bond note by Bear Stearns on international markets, raising US$925 million. The note was rated Baa3 by ratings agency Moody's in March, 2007, following on from a BBB− rating by Fitch Ratings 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.

Further reading

• Westermann, Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte (in German)