Alok R Varma

Main Email Body: Dear Mr. Abdullah, Thanks for the below email and photos. I checked with the team just now and let me keep you informed about the following points : 1. During the dates 14 – 23 June (except the day of Eid), people have been deployed and everyday we are also putting total 30 gardeners (instead of 21). De-weeding has been done all along which were huge indeed. 2. During Eid time, the team was entirely asked to focus from Roundabout to Zone 8 / Road 1, a large and main stretch. This was attended to improve the look. Colossal work was also done on lagoon cleaning, as it was left to us in a very bad shape. Trimming and pruning in most areas are completed. Inside areas are being attended to. 3. Central park lawn mowing is done and now palm tree cleaning is in progress 4. Some photos pertain to work in progress as well. 5. IMPORTANT : With the kind of work left for us by earlier contractor, it is going to take time to bring it to full shape. A zone by zone schedule is also being done.. 6. Proactively we have asked a meeting today also at 2 pm. We will discuss across the table again as Mr. Rosario is also back. Best regards, Alok R Varma COO From: Abdullah AlNasiri <aalnasiri@muscatbay.com> Sent: Sunday, June 23, 2024 10:02 AM To: COO-Office <coo-office@assarain.com>; Abdulrahim AlBalushi <aalbalushi@muscatbay.com>; Sara Al Harthi <salharthi@muscatbay.com>; Alok R Varma <alokvarma@assarain.com> Cc: Jaswant <jaswant@kalhat.com>; Praneeth <praneeth@kalhat.com>; Krishnan <krishnan@kalhat.com>; Sivakumar - Garden <sivakumar@kalhat.com>; ROSARIO <rosario@assarain.com>; Ahmed Alawi <ahmedalawi@assarain.com> Subject: RE: MINUTES OF MEETING DATED 9.6.2024 AT MUSCAT BAY FOR ISSUES ON PROJECT EXECUTION Dear Mr. Varma Very good morning to you and I really hope you are doing well. I am sharing with some photos reflecting how the site is ruined during the past few days, It looks like a jungle instead of 5 stars’ resort. I am sharing with you phots reflecting: How are wild weeds overgrowing everywhere without real action taken, despite our meeting, calls and follow-ups but the progress is null It is 9:30 am when I took head office parking picture, Please have a look to our head office parking space how it is full of trees waste and I assure you this area has not been attended for the last week, I can observe this form amount of waste accumulated. It is Sunday, so from Saturday the supervisor supposed to assure that head office area is well taken care of. You will be able to see from the pictures, many worker’s personal belongings kept on the street in a way it ruins the look and feel of the site We are in 2024, it is totally not acceptable to see cleaning team using palm tree leaves to remove the waste, proper tools have to be arrange immediately I went to the central park; I am really surprised from the amount of wild weeds around the palm trees. This area is the heart of Muscat Bay and seeing it in such bade shape should alert us to evaluate all promises given. We have clearly asked your team not to keep tools and materials at the site, I have shared with your through whatsapp a photo showing ladder kept next to central swimming pool Palm trees trimming, it is our first time during the past 6 years to see such negligence and unprofessionalism in attending trimming duties, how they leave all that waste and fruits on the street!! While there is more than one worker in same site? Zone 5 (Nameer) almost by tomorrow it will look like abandoned zone due to excessive wild grass and unattended landscape maintenance, this area has to be attended immediately. Zone 3 Walls between buildings: full of wild grass, despite this has been highlighted directly to you by our CEO but I can see your team is not putting on board expected action Zone 3 Building entries: the excessive amount of wild grass bring sadness It seems ourselves has to act as site supervisors, as the ongoing supervision from your team can be described as weak and not responsible, if this will continue for another one month, I think by that time our site will be totally ruined. We have spent ages to bring our site to a resort themed and it has to continue in same format. We are expecting from your end real action to be taken on above matters, moreover to be attended ASAP. On other hand I think you have to review the supervisor’s performance on the site as on the end this is a reflection of Kalhat performance. Abdullah AlNasiri Vice President- Customer Experience T: +968 24 857000 F: <tel:+968%2024%20640000> +968 24 826522 M: <tel:+968%2095%20194694> +968 95 790000 PO Box 605, Postal Code 115, Sultanate of Oman www.muscatbay.com<http://muscatbay.com/> [cid:image001.jpg@01DAC558.8821C780]<https://muscatbay.com/smartinvestor/en/> This e-mail contains proprietary information some of which may be legally privileged. This e-mail is intended to be reviewed only by the individual(s) or organizations named above. If you are not an intended recipient, or an authorized representative of an intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication, or any of its content or attachments, is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this message in error, please return it to the sender immediately and delete the original message and any copy of it from your computer system. Saraya is neither liable for the proper and complete transmission of the information contained in this communication nor for any delay in its receipt From: COO-Office [mailto:coo-office@assarain.com<mailto:coo-office@assarain.com>] Sent: Monday, June 10, 2024 3:07 PM To: aalnasiri@muscatbay.com<mailto:aalnasiri@muscatbay.com>; nalraisi@muscatbay.com<mailto:nalraisi@muscatbay.com>; Abdulrahim AlBalushi <aalbalushi@muscatbay.com<mailto:aalbalushi@muscatbay.com>>; Sara Al Harthi <salharthi@muscatbay.com<mailto:salharthi@muscatbay.com>> Cc: Jaswant <jaswant@kalhat.com<mailto:jaswant@kalhat.com>>; Praneeth <praneeth@kalhat.com<mailto:praneeth@kalhat.com>>; Krishnan <krishnan@kalhat.com<mailto:krishnan@kalhat.com>>; Sivakumar - Garden <sivakumar@kalhat.com<mailto:sivakumar@kalhat.com>>; Alok R Varma <alokvarma@assarain.com<mailto:alokvarma@assarain.com>>; ROSARIO <rosario@assarain.com<mailto:rosario@assarain.com>>; Ahmed Alawi <ahmedalawi@assarain.com<mailto:ahmedalawi@assarain.com>> Subject: MINUTES OF MEETING DATED 9.6.2024 AT MUSCAT BAY FOR ISSUES ON PROJECT EXECUTION Sub: Meeting at dated 9.6.24 at Muscat Bay for issues on project execution Present : Muscat Bay : 1. Mr. Abdullah Ali Al Nasiri, VP – Customer Experience 2. Mr. Naila Al Raisi, Customer Experience Supervisor 3. Mr. Abdul Rahim Al Balushi, Asst. Manager – Assets & Operation 4. Ms Sara Al Harthi , Operation Engineer 5. Mr. Abdul Aziz, Doc. Controller Kalhat : 1. Mr. Alok R Varma, COO 2. Mr. Ahmed Al Alawi 3. Mr. Jaswant Singh, FM 4. Mr. Praneeth Kumar Arathi, Operations Manager 5. Mr. Krishnan, Landscaping Manager 6. Mr. Sivakumar, Landscaping A solution oriented approach was taken in by both teams of Assarain Group and Muscat Bay. Accordingly, a record note is being made of major points segment-wise : Background : 1. COO explained that the major scope of Kalhat was towards : Cleaning services Landscaping services MEP maintenance Waste management Lagoon cleaning 1. Areas involved were majorly Road sweeping; Outside areas; Public areas; Admin building; Common areas; Zone-3; Zone-5; Zone-8; Village square; Lagoon cleaning. 2. The key dates for Assarain to take over are as follows : Nov / Dec / Jan – Techno-commercial discussions on scope and pricing 19.2.24 – Letter of Acceptance was issued; 22.2.24 - Signed LOA was sent back 7.5.24 - Contract commencement date 9.6.24 - Today’s meeting 1. As a start point, Muscat Bay team indicated that the meeting was being held to steam up operations. COO advised Muscat Bay team to put in all their issues on table and also identify priority areas with the above background in mind. Landscaping : Reporting related : 1. Schedules are not clear and accordingly, weekly maintenance schedule + look-ahead schedule should be given on 7 + 7 days basis. Format to be designed. This is to be submitted by Kalhat every Thursday for next 15 days. (Kalhat) 2. Checklist of daily work on landscaping to be prepared and submitted 3. Daily report / weekly report / monthly report are to be submitted 4. Supervision has to increase Work related : 1. Response to corrective instructions to be improved. Order capture mechanism to be evolved 2. Plants are drying up and weeds are all over 3. Lawns are neglected 4. Proper maintenance to be done and steam up the process 5. Resolve the issues 6. Teams to be allocated zonewise 7. Pocket parks are neglected 8. Absence of supervision on site and Muscat Bay felt that still chaos is there 9. Landscaping dry waste lying from COMO – to be cleared by Kalhat 10. During break time, machines & tools, etc. should be removed to a secured corner and away from reach of children / people 11. Driving through Muscat Bay should be a good journey Cleaning & Housekeeping: Reporting related : 1. Weekly maintenance schedule + look-ahead schedule should be given on 7 + 7 days basis. Format to be designed. This is to be submitted by Kalhat every Thursday for next 15 days. (Kalhat) 2. Weekly report / monthly report are to be submitted 3. Checklist of daily work on Cleaning aspects to be prepared and submitted especially for common areas Work related : 1. Cleaning team to have Monitors reporting other normal problems on electricals, etc. 2. Proactive reporting of any issues found in the premises to be done by one and all and should not wait for Supervisor only. Operations team to train them on 1 & 2 (Kalhat) 3. Material requisitions take time and should be clearly enclosed with 3 quotations 4. Large Road sweeper to be replaced with smaller one. Kalhat confirmed 4 weeks due to stock out. 5. Sooner or later, after teething problems are solved, Mr Abdullah would like to utilize his team on key initiatives and strategic ideas on lifting up the sites. Hence, within next 2 months, most things should be solved. 6. Lagoon cleaning is delayed and instead of 4th June, it is 9th June today. For Lagoon cleaning, to fill up water, we have to coordinate with Jumeirah hotel for starting of Beach Well to fill up water in the Lagoon. MEP related: Reporting related : 1. Weekly maintenance schedule + look-ahead schedule should be given on 7 + 7 days basis. Format to be designed. This is to be submitted by Kalhat every Thursday for next 15 days. (Kalhat) 2. Weekly report / monthly report are to be submitted 3. Checklist of weekly MEP aspects to be prepared and submitted 4. CMMS systems and PPM reports to be implemented at the earliest. 5. Contingency plan to be prepared as Phase 2 Action point in anticipation of floods, lightening, rains, etc. Work related : 1. Smooth handover has not happened.. It is believed that Kalhat is still blaming COMO. However, maintenance task should be started. 2. Attendance at site to be reported 3. Regarding utilities, meter readings are to be given regularly. System to be evolved 4. For shifting of portacabin, Client to shift the FM office portacabin to new location with basic amenities (water, electricity, AC, sewerage, fiber optic etc) utility bills will be paid by Kalhat at the earliest so that the office is functional immediately. 5. Material procurement is delayed and even response to maintenance of doors, etc. is not immediate. 6. Accuracy of information from site to Muscat Bay team is to be given by only Supervisors based on their input exclusively. Not to depend on workers. 7. Fuse lights to be replaced and MR to be placed urgently - Kalhat 8. Material requisitions take time and should be clearly enclosed with 3 quotations Customer Service Related – From Ms Naila 1. Ms Naila explains that she takes care of entire customer experience and would like better communication between Helpdesk and customers. 2. There is improvement. However, the complaint capture system, its resolution and call-back after solution should be ensured. 3. There are high profile customers of various background and hence, proper response, going to villas with all equipment, throughout courtesy, hygiene factors while entering flats, carrying out of work and clean up post work is extremely essential. Care should be taken to inspect the site and explain to the customer if there are any pre-existing issues, marks, faults, etc. prior to take up of work by Kalhat. 4. Due training and refinement is required and standard operating procedures for this has to be set. 5. Depending on the problem, a clear timeline has to be informed to the customer and timing of attending the complaint of the customer, noise level if generated during attending, etc. should be informed. 6. Poor quality of work, fingertip marks, damages, etc. should not happen. Solutions approach by Assarain – Muscat Bay team Background After going through all the above aspects, COO agreed that the above shall be used as a checklist and maximum resolution will be done. However, for any “treatment”, diagnostics done are to be recognized in all fairness. COO had taken a 1-hour round with his team and inspected all areas, as defined above. He also informed the Muscat Bay FM Team that he appreciated all points and first wanted to recognize the issues. As a background and documentary evidence collected in April and prior to moving in Muscat Bay site, Kalhat has prepared a snaglist on landscaping, Cleaning and MEP. There is an avalanche of work left and documented in pictures and snaglist dated 30.4.24 (2 snaglists); 1.5.24 and 4.5.24 (1 each). There has to be some cooperation requested from Muscat Bay on immediate redressal of our well-studied submissions as below. 1. It is extremely difficult to continue to landscape effectively without adequate water availability, very low pressure of water at places, pumps not being available at site, etc. Muscat Bay team informed to start using potable water for the time being and change the dripline wherever wear and tear is beyond functionality and essentially required. 2. Mr. Abdulrahim to be shown water pressure issues and pumps, etc. to be bought immediately. 3. On Lawn issues, RO.28 K of replacement budget was high as per Muscat Bay team. Our Landscaping Head / Agriculture Engineer observed that at many places, weeds were 50% - 75% at the time of taking over and if they remove weeds, there will be large patches of empty area left out and then there could be complaints of missing grass. This matter would be studied mutually. Meanwhile, Kalhat shall prepare 10 Sqm sample at one of the areas and show the difference, just for example with another patch of deeply weeded area.. 4. Due to non availability of water on Friday / Saturday, Kalhat has been buying water in water tankers to water the plants. 5. COO explained that as immediate steps, they would deploy approximately 50 people on their extra cost just for cutting and pruning all across to give it shape and look in major areas so that it looks better as a “first sight”. Maximum work will be done on this Friday only. This should improve look during Eid time from 16th June onwards 6. Increasing of supervision, Mr. Krishnan, Head of Landscaping will visit the site every 3 days and Mr. Siva will visit once every 2 days, as per COO’s instruction. Mr. Praneeth will visit every 3 days for overall evaluation. They shall also meet Ms Sara / Ms Naila / Mr. Abdulrahim and Mr. Praneeth & Mr. Krishan shall meet Mr. Abdullah Nasiri and update him on key issues. WhatsApp Group to be also made. 7. For landscaping, after 14th June major exercise with 50 people, zonewise allocation of team shall be done, after attacking the main difficult areas. It is a continuous exercise. 8. On Lagoon cleaning, COO informed that the Lagoon which was taken over had huge heaps of sand and mega cleaning was required by Kalhat. This is also extra cost hit on Kalhat which we have taken. However, handover will be soon. 9. To facilitate proper working and equipping Kalhat, Muscat Bay team agreed for the following points after due explanation was given : Informed to immediately prepare the snag list in 2 parts for each segment viz. Landscaping, Cleaning and MEP. Sub Total of items under List A for the 3 segments and B for the 3 segments will give the Grand Total. In this, there will be 2 demarcations viz. Top Urgent List A and Urgent List B. Top Urgent List A shall be approved by Muscat Bay immediately Urgent List B shall be approved say within next 3 weeks. Accordingly, Kalhat to prepare the above table. Approvals will be given fast 1. To ease further operation, Muscat Bay / Mr. Sapumal’s department will share the vendors list which was used by COMO. 2. COO assured that a mother list with this vendor list and our vendor list. Due negotiations will be done with these vendors to give lowest possible pricing to Muscat Bay. Alternate vendors developed will also be added. This will ensure quick resolution in obtaining quotations and prices. This will reduce the turn-around-time (TAT). 3. On Ms Naila’s requirement and other noted points, Kalhat senior team to immediately arrange training programs for the landscaping, cleaning and MEP teams, their awareness levels, standard operating procedures, cross reporting of any site related issues and with this, to improve the overall quality and performance levels. 4. All other points will be used as a checklist and reference points to execute them on-ground at the earliest possible. Many points to be attacked in parallel. Contract related - Here COO brought out 4 points for consideration. 1. Performance Bond – It is changed to 5% in the revised contract as per the discussion between Commercial head of Muscat Bay and Kalhat Team – Agreed. 2. Snaglist approval has been referred by Contract department and indicated to be solved by Muscat Bay Operations team and the same is discussed and then agreed upon for making “Top Urgent List A” and “Urgent List B”. This will be solved by Mr. Abdullah Al Nasiri. 3. The provisional amount for security and lady employee (Receptionist), the provisional amount of RO.5,750 excluding VAT per month or RO 3,62,250 (including VAT) cumulatively for 5 years is not sufficient to cover the following: Paid sick leaves / longer emergency leaves of Security / Receptionist staff given by Muscat Bay to Kalhat are needed to be paid overtime or we have to pay direct replacement resource to cover the unplanned manpower Gap. Mr. Abdullah Al Nasiri will check on this and get back. Kalhat does not want to earn any extra on this, but should be reimbursed at actual billing. 1. Payment terms – Currently, the payment term offered was 150 days. Even in the revised agreement, clarity in certification cycle is not evident. COO advised that these are salaries and other employee related costs such as Visa, Insurance, Camp, Catering, Transport etc. and are to be paid in time. Hence, COO mentioned to Mr. Abdullah to advise commercial team to kindly agree on 60 days payment including certification for the monthly bills as mentioned in our offer. Delay in Payments creates liquidity pressure. Best regards, Alok R Varma Chief Operating Officer SSW Group of Companies (Assarain Group) P.O. Box 1475, P.C. 112, Ruwi Sultanate of Oman Mobile No. 00968-99245731 Email ID : alokvarma@assarain.com<mailto:alokvarma@assarain.com> www.assarain.com<http://www.assarain.com> _________________ ARPro Mail Assistance : ### Summary of Email #### Critical Technical Details: 1. **Deployment and Work Progress**: - Increased deployment of gardeners (30 instead of 21) for de-weeding. - Focus on main areas during Eid (Roundabout to Zone 8 / Road 1). - Lagoon cleaning, trimming, and pruning activities ongoing. - Central park lawn mowing completed; palm tree cleaning in progress. 2. **Issues Highlighted by Abdullah AlNasiri**: - Overgrowth of wild weeds. - Neglected head office parking space. - Workers’ personal belongings left on the street. - Use of palm tree leaves for cleaning instead of proper tools. - Poor condition of central park and other areas. - Tools and materials left on-site. - Negligence in palm tree trimming and waste management. - Unattended areas in Zone 5 and Zone 3. 3. **Immediate Actions Needed**: - Proactive meeting scheduled at 2 pm to discuss issues. - Zone-by-zone schedule to be prepared for bringing areas into shape. - Increase supervision and ensure proper tools are used. - Immediate attention to highlighted areas (Zone 5, Zone 3, central park, head office parking). 4. **Urgent Issues**: - Poor supervision and lack of responsibility from the team. - Immediate need for real action to address overgrowth and cleanliness. - Review of supervisor’s performance on-site. ### Draft Response #### To: Abdullah AlNasiri, aalnasiri@muscatbay.com #### Cc: COO-Office, Abdulrahim AlBalushi, Sara Al Harthi, Alok R Varma #### Subject: RE: MINUTES OF MEETING DATED 9.6.2024 AT MUSCAT BAY FOR ISSUES ON PROJECT EXECUTION Dear Mr. Abdullah, Thank you for your detailed email and the photos highlighting the current issues on-site. ### Acknowledgment of Issues: 1. **Overgrowth of Wild Weeds**: - We have increased the number of gardeners from 21 to 30 to expedite de-weeding and overall site maintenance. - A zone-by-zone schedule is being prepared to systematically address all areas. 2. **Neglected Areas**: - Immediate action will be taken to clean the head office parking space and ensure it is regularly maintained. - We will also ensure that workers’ personal belongings are not left on the streets, maintaining the site’s aesthetic. 3. **Use of Proper Tools**: - Proper cleaning tools will be arranged immediately to replace the use of palm tree leaves. 4. **Central Park and Other Areas**: