A $66m marina development is set to go ahead on Bahrain’s Muharraq coastline following a year of obstacles.
The project, which includes a hotel, shopping mall, theme park, office tower and some comerrcial and residential buildings, is being developed by a consortium which includes Turkish, Saudi and Bahraini businessman. It will also feature a jetty for fishermen, a fish market and a beach.
According to Gulf Daily News, the scheme had faced delays because Muharraq Municipal Council had been split between approving the project or supporting an alternative plan by the Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Ministry to revitalise the area.
The Ministry had spent $1.8m on installing facilities for families and children, and had planned a $5.3m restaurant complex, but the project never started. Plans were also mooted for a Grand Mosque.
Council chairman Abdulnasser Al Mahmeed said: “Even though we were divided on whether the place should be invested in or developed by the ministry last year, we have reached a point where we are convinced that supporting private investment is better than waiting for the government to find the budget.
“There were problems with the presence of a hotel in the original plan… but when we speak about a resort-style investment its presence becomes necessary.”
The beachfront location faces the corniche of Bahrain’s capital city, Manama.
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