AlBuhuairat

Project/Location
AI Buhuairat is a bold and
adventurous project to develop a
self-contained Resort City by the
Red Sea. Commenced in the early
1990's on 400 hectares of
reclaimed land, to date, the project
has produced insufficient cash
flow to enable it to proceed. John
Robinson was commissioned as
master planner to re-evaluate the
project in terms of overall product
concept and suggest an alternative
approach to re-position the scheme
and derive greater value from
existing investment.

Project Description
Originally conceived, the scheme
was a completely new concept for
Saudi Arabia with private boat
moorings to almost every villa. In
addition to the residential
component, a wide range of leisure
and entertainment facilities including
hotels, shops, water park and
aquarium were proposed. Over a
decade later however, the
residential and resort market has
changed considerably.

A revised plan has therefore been
prepared retaining some of the
private waterfront moorings but
including a greater range of
accommodation. In layout terms, the
main aim was to maximise water
frontage development (and thus
revenue), whilst providing
affordable accommodation. This
necessitated some demolition and
land fill together with changes to
the marine environment. A bold and
exciting master plan still remains,
but with a rationalised land use,
road and water network. Given the
size and complexity of the project
however, careful management and
implementation will be essential to
its successful completion.