The eleven floor car park is a key component of BFH Development

With an estimated construction cost of US$ 33 million, Commercial East Car Park is now 75% complete.

Manama, Bahrain, 21 February, 2009: In a development that marks significant forward movement on the US$ 3 billion landmark BFH, Bahrain Financial Harbour Holding Company (BFHHC) today announced that the overall construction work at the Commercial East Car Park is progressing on schedule with the completion of approximately 75% of the project.

The project, coming up at an estimated cost of US$33 million, extends over 5,141sqm and comprises a basement, ground floor and nine additional stories that together provide approximately 1,700 parking spaces for tenants and visitors of the Financial Centre. Terna Contracting is the general contractor of the project. The contract was signed in March 2008 and the car park should be delivered by May 31 of this year.

Commenting on the development, Dr. Omer El Mardi, Managing Director, BFHHC said: "Construction work on the car park has already clocked over 1.8 million man-hours and is progressing well. It was important for us to stick to our deadlines because occupancy of the Financial Centre is gathering momentum and footfalls are expected to increase on a daily basis. That's why we planned for a multi-level car park to address the requirements of our growing list of tenants and visitors." 

"Around 75% of the project has been completed and we expect the car park to be fully operational by June this year, right on schedule. We are confident that our meticulous planning will prevent any congestion and ensure adequate space to satisfy the parking requirements of all our clients and tenants." Dr. Omer added.

The progress is linked to the fitting out schedule with an aim to avoid any overcrowding of the general area. Thus by June 2009, the capacity of the new car park will effectively meet the demand for additional parking spaces with new tenants moving in.

The Commercial East car park will feature integrated communications, security and MEP systems based on the latest technology, with built-in features for local as well as remote monitoring and control. That means its systems can be monitored from within the car park building itself or from the Financial Centre control room, which marks a first for a car park in the Middle East.

However, given the expected additional demand for parking spaces from tenants as well as the growing number of visitors to Harbour Mall, construction of a second car park will be taken up in the first half of 2009. Situated next to the West Tower, the new car park will be similar to but bigger than the one currently nearing completion. It will be connected to the West Tower and the Harbour Mall via a covered passageway for easy access.

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About BFH
A fully integrated, master-planned development, the US$ 3 billion Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH), is creating a complete financial city, a self contained community and reinforcing Bahrain's unsurpassed position as the financial capital of the Middle East. A first of its kind development in the region, BFH is a highly focused, committed and advanced financial environment spread over 380,000 square metres of prime seafront property in the centre of Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain. Furthermore, it comprises 10 projects that uniquely combine business, leisure and residential components under one canopy. Phase I of the project 'The Financial Centre' which includes the Harbour Towers - Bahrain's tallest towers and the Harbour Mall.  The Financial Centre is operational and open for business.

© Press Release 2009