Work is under way on a BD75 million beach resort in Budaiya off the King Fahad Causeway that links Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. The project, financed by Bahraini company A. A. Janahi Holdings, will be built on about 800,000 square meters of area at Al Dafna Al Hamra, in the northern area of Budaiya.
The resort, which has not yet been named, will feature a luxury hotel, a large park, a marina for yachts, restaurants and around 1,000 furnished flats. Construction is expected to take around two-and-a-half years to complete. "This is the first tourism project of this size to be implemented in Budaiya. We want to package the area as an investment attraction," the Northern Municipal Councillor, Faraj Al Dossary, said.
"Budaiya is closest city next to the causeway and by creating such resorts the number of tourists travelling via the causeway will increase. "They won't have to travel all the way to the capital to find a place to stay but can leave the causeway and within seconds they will reach this resort," he said.
The project has been designed by Al Wafa International Investment Company. It will be built on a piece of 20-year-old reclaimed land owned by A. A. Janahi Holdings and was approved by both the Housing and Urbanisation Committee and the Council. "I have held several meetings with residents of the area and discussed with them the benefits of the project and listened to their views." Al Dossary said. "I also discussed their comments and demands with the project developers who agreed on all the points raised."
He said that since it was the first project of this size in the area, residents made a number of conditions. "We set up a number of conditions the developers must adhere to, such as no sales of alcoholic beverages or any other services that are against the Islamic beliefs and customs," Al Dossary said.
The developers have also agreed to accord priority to jobseekers from the area and predict the project will create 300 jobs. "Another condition is that the area's public facilities such as electricity and water would not be used. The developers would be responsible for building their own water and electricity stations," he said.
The developers have also agreed to allocate around three percent of the resort's annual profits to charities and clubs such as the Budaiya Sports and Cultural Club, the Budaiya Charity Fund and needy families. "The developers have also promised to rebuild the fishing harbour next to the resort, which offers a very few facilities to fishermen," Al Dossary said.
© Bahrain Tribune 2005
