Kingdom's biggest mall set to take a giant leap forward

Manama, Bahrain, April 1, 2008: The wait is finally over. Bahrain residents and tourists will soon experience its newest and most eagerly awaited shopping, entertainment and leisure destination, when the Bahrain City Centre opens on September 1 this year.

Strategically located in the heart of Manama  on Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Road in the up and coming Seef District, Bahrain City Centre will stretch over three levels to occupy a total GLA area of 150,000 square metres. It will also incorporate two international hotels managed by Kempinski, with a total of 550 luxurious rooms offering 4 and 5 star facilities.

Bahrain City Centre has already created over 2,000 job opportunities and aims to attract over 15 million shoppers in its first operational year. The Kingdom's biggest multi-use development is expected to contribute significantly to the local economy.

Bahrain City Centre is being developed and managed by MAF Shopping Malls. Maintaining the group's unsurpassed reputation of delivering the best in shopping, leisure, entertainment and retail services, Bahrain City Centre will offer an impressive list of attractions that include:

  • The biggest indoor/outdoor climate controlled water park in the Middle East

  • Cineco Cinema - the largest cinema complex in the region with 20-screens

  • International and exclusive brands such as SAKS 5th Avenue, H&M, Aizone, Debenhams, Centre Point, Home Centre, Paris Gallery, Zara, Mango, Massimo Dutti, and other leading fashion names

  • A 16,600 square meter Carrefour hypermarket - the first in the country

  • The largest concentration of food and beverage outlets under one roof in the Kingdom that will extend over 9,700 square metres to include 11 coffee shops, 13 restaurants, 21 food court units and 9 smaller outlets serving juice, ice cream and other snacks - taking the total to 54 units

  • Parking capacity for 5,500 vehicles

An iconic landmark in Bahrain's horizon, Bahrain City Centre will be an ideal and convenient "getaway" destination for both residents as well as visitors from the neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Shahram Shamsaee, Senior Vice-President - Asset Management, MAF Shopping Malls, commented: "The opening of Bahrain City Centre will be a truly proud moment for us. With an unrivalled selection of over 350 stores ranging from the world's most recognisable brands to popular local retailers, we will offer the widest product choices to our customers. Our mission is to offer a one-of-a-kind experience for everyone who visits us - never to be forgotten, always to be relived and to come back to again and again."

-Ends-

About Bahrain City Centre:
Bahrain City Centre is one of Majid Al Futtaim Group's forthcoming landmark projects in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2008, the centre will become the first integrated entertainment, shopping and leisure resort in the Kingdom and one of the largest in the GCC. The centre will feature the region's largest indoor / outdoor water park, the largest cinema complex (note: this is in terms of # screens), Magic Planet, over 50 F&B outlets and two international 4 and 5-star hotels offering a total of 550 rooms.

About MAF Shopping Malls:
MAF Shopping Malls is the leading manager and developer of shopping centres in the Middle East and North Africa. The company is part of the MAF Properties one of the major operating subsidiaries of the Majid Al Futtaim Group and already has seven operating centres totaling over 500,000 square meters of GLA - 4 centres in UAE; 2 in Egypt and 1 in Oman. MAF Shopping Malls deals with over a 1200 retailers across the globe and its centres draw a combined foot traffic of over 90 million shoppers annually.

MAF Shopping Malls world-class shopping centres have revolutionised the retail industry in the past 13 years with breakthrough developments like Ski Dubai, the first indoor Ski Resort, Mall of the Emirates - the first shopping resort in the Middle East and the popular City Centre franchise that has been exported across the region to Egypt and Muscat.

For more information, please contact:
Komal Manglani
Polaris Public Relations
P. O. Box 32838,
Dubai,
UAE
Tel: +9714-3415555;
Fax: +9714-3415588
Email: k.manglani@polaris-me.com

© Press Release 2008