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He and his development team travelled to Australia to study the successful aspects of waterfront living, they modeled their souqs on those in Egypt and Morocco and they’re recreating Florida’s famous Miami Bayside district. Furthermore, they’re building a network of parks, cycle paths and pedestrian walkways in the kingdom to rival the world’s best.
Hejres says they have put so much effort into the details of the master plan that he believes Diyar, when complete, will never be rivaled.
“We challenge everything and always look for a better way,” he says. As an example, he cites their efforts to design the first 500 low-income houses which will start being constructed next year. A total of nine consultancies were commissioned, five local and four international.
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“We received a total of 91 designs, then removed the names of the companies, shuffled them up and independently criticised each one, before making the final selection,” he says
“If it was somebody else they would have given it to one company and said design the affordable housing. But we took it seriously to make sure the lower end does not get skipped over.”
Aside from one small area of the gated community, most of the project’s 40km of beaches and waterfront will be open to the public and all residents will have access to the mall, community shopping centres, parks, marinas, walkways, schools, mosques and health centres.
“Diyar is a city of the future, it’s everyone’s city,” he says sincerely.
“Nobody is putting together a self contained city for all strata of society that is open and has such amenities. I see it as a dream coming true. It is how new cities should be.”
Statements like these may rival a first-time parent with a new born baby but you can’t fault Hejres for his enthusiasm and commitment to the development.
It seems every aspect of the project runs past his desk from environmental issues to technical details. This of course had a major impact on the leisure time that he was craving prior to taking the job two and a half years ago.
“I bought a boat that I have only been on two or three times, I bought a bicycle that I’ve been on two times, I bought a jet ski that I’ve been on two times and I bought a motor bike eight months ago that I haven’t even ridden yet,” he says.
On top of this his friends think he has disappeared and his wife is beginning to feel a little left out. “My wife gets jealous that I love Diyar so much, but she has been very supportive,” he says.
“It has been very hard, I work here until late, and then I go home, eat, spend time with her and then work again.”
At the moment Hejres admits that he is tired, very tired, but adds that he is beginning to feel some breathing space for the first time. The first 6km² of reclamation is due to finish in November, work on the master plan is beginning to plateau and construction of the first 500 affordable houses should start early next year.
But with the total development expected to take around 15 years before it is fully built out, will Hejres be able to maintain his motivation levels?
“I didn’t think I would last on this project, maybe after two years I thought I would retire. I was not able to enjoy my life, I had everything but no time to enjoy it,” he says.
“But things have changed. Now I have fallen in love and I am attached to Diyar. I’ve started it and I have to finish it. It’s my baby.”
Aaref Hejres Bio
After leaving school Hejres joined Bahrain’s army where he spent eight years and obtained the rank of captain. He spent five years studying architecture in the US and obtained his degree from the University of Miami, Florida. He then returned to Bahrain and established his own consultancy firm.
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