'Aquaminiums' and Private Islands

by Guy Nowell, Sail World Asia on 31 May 2007 Gulu Lalvani, founder and developer of the Royal Phuket Marina, was in Hong Kong recently to share his vision of developing Phuket as a world-class yachting hub. Following on from the successful sale of all 66 condominiums and penthouse apartments in phase 1 of the RPM, the next phase will involve ‘aquaminiums’ – condominiums with drive-in boat berths in the ‘basement’. Also launched are eight Royal Villas with private swimming pools and doorstep moorings.

Lalvani believes that Phuket is one of the world’s most idyllic boating locations. 'I came here to retire, but I am a complete workaholic', he said, 'and I started to get bored. I really believe that Phuket is up there with the best locations in the world, and deserved one of the best marinas. So I started Royal Phuket Marina. To date we are the only marina in Asia to have been awarded 5 Gold Anchors'.

'Now we are going to take things to a new and even more exciting level. Superyachts are coming to Asia in ever greater numbers, and there is nowhere in this region to berth a motor yacht over 45m. They are too big to enter RPM and so we have conceived a plan to build an artificial island development in deep water on the east coast of Phuket. Megayachts such as Paul Allen’s ‘Octopus’ (which has recently been visiting the region) cannot visit Phuket – and tie up – at the moment. We aim to change that'.

The architects for the proposed Zoran Island, in deep water just off the Royal Phuket Marina, are Burchill Partners, the same group responsible for ‘The Palm’ and ‘The World’ in Dubai, so Lalvani is confident of delivering a quality product.

David Simister, Chairman of CB Richard Ellis (Thailand), sales agent for RPM, also gave a presentation at the launch on property investment in Thailand. He pointed out that 'waterfront properties have risen in value dramatically in the last few years. Compared to Hawaii, Phuket’s low density of development and quality property infrastructure make it extremely good value-for-money for investment purposes. The Zoran Island development will only enhance regional values, and move Phuket from being a leading regional player into the world league'.

Lalvani says he has already achieved his goal of making RPM the ‘best marina in Asia’, and with this new project he aims to put Phuket firmly at the top of the list of world class yachting destinations.