Standing on the deck of a small motor boat in the spring sunshine, gazing across the waves to Qatar’s most ambitious project to date, The Pearl-Qatar, it’s easy to be impressed. Cranes pepper the skyline, townhouses, villas and marinas are taking shape, and it’s possible to visualise how the island will look on completion in 2011. “This project is a true translation of a dream,” says Khalil Sholy, managing director of The Pearl-Qatar’s parent company United Development Company (UDC). In a crowded market where developments have to come up with something truly special to stand out, he may well be right.
Over the last decade, our region has enjoyed a boom in the creation of luxury residential and retail developments, some becoming household names in the process. So what does The Pearl-Qatar have that other developments do not? “We have collaborated to create a lifestyle and destination that will be sought after by everyone,” says Sholy. “It’s an island that embraces different cultures into one location.” With a mix of Italian, French and Moroccan architecture gracing the sea-facing boardwalks, visitors and residents alike will be able to relax and enjoy a series of meticulously planned open spaces with a French Riviera-like feel.
It’s not just the luxurious lifestyle offered by The Pearl-Qatar that impresses it’s the sheer magnitude of UDC’s achievement in building this island in the first place. “We were creating an island from the sea, remember,” says Sholy, proudly, as he freely admits that setting up an administrative and logistical framework to build and maintain the island was the company’s greatest challenge. Consisting of 400 hectares of reclaimed land off the Doha coastline, the island (linked by a causeway to the mainland) boasts 40 kilometres of coastline, 20 kilometres of beaches, and 2.5 kilometres of retail-facing marina – the longest in the world.
Unlike other developments in the region, environmental concerns were of paramount importance. A marine consultant was employed to design the shape of the island, ensuring that wave patterns would not lead to the erosion of beaches, but enable water to move freely around the island and encourage local wildlife to return.
Nearly four years on from when work started in 2004, the island is beginning to take shape, and many of the residences have already been sold, affirming buyers’ confidence in The Pearl-Qatar as a place to both invest and live in. At the far end of the island, the nine private islands were snapped up almost immediately, their privacy, own marina and spectacular sea views proving an irresistible combination for royalty, political figures and the region’s glitterati. Other apartments, villas and townhouses – which enjoy views of either the open sea or the growing Doha skyline – have proved to be just as popular, attracting over 40 different nationalities to date. In fact, over 400 million USD worth of property was sold in one evening in January this year. The popularity of residences on the island must be due in part to the fact that owners of the property automatically qualify for residency in Qatar, and they also own 100 per cent of the freehold – unique in Qatar.
As befits a cutting edge development, the island is technologically advanced to the nth degree. Partnerships with Siemens and Cisco-Mannai have created a communications system that will enable residents to manage their property at home or remotely – and will allow any advances in technology to be seamlessly integrated into the system. Fully integrated systems include electronic surveillance, remote meter readings, billing, banking, security systems and other community portals. The company is also looking into providing back up satellite systems, should the region ever be affected by damage to underwater internet cabling, as happened off the coast of Egypt recently.
But it is the lifestyle that Sholy feels will be the big attraction for residents – all 50,000 of them – some of whom will begin to move in from this year. “People will be able to fulfill their own dreams and enjoy an unsurpassed quality of lifestyle on our island – eating at the best restaurants, enjoying the latest fashions, culture and art and experiencing the most exclusive hotels,” he says. For yachting enthusiasts, there are over 1,000 berths, and a yacht club; for fans of the outdoors, parks and other shady spaces are included in the design; beaches and water sport facilities will also be present for those who are more active. And for residents, and tourists, who simply want to eat, drink and shop, top names in fashion, food and beverage are also snapping up outlets across the island.
“We created a framework that achieved [the building of The Pearl-Qatar] in precisely the manner we wanted it to be done,” concludes Sholy. By marrying man-made and nature, UDC has created a unique island, and one that will surely set the standard for years to come.
Contact
United Development Co. The Pearl-Qatar
Doha, Qatar
Tel + 974 446 3444
HYPERLINK "http://www.thepearlqatar.com" www.thepearlqatar.com
