Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain - 30 March 2008 - Durrat Al Bahrain, the Kingdom's largest planned luxury residential, commercial and tourist resort development, today announced it has switched on the lighting for one of The Islands for the first time as part of the testing of the infrastructure serving the island city resort.

The Islands are the feature piece of what is Bahrain's most inspiring development.  Designed in two circular rows of 11 islands, The Islands carve an exquisite green necklace across the graceful, blue waters of the Gulf, creating a unique feature of the $6 billion island-based community.  In total, 1043 luxury villas are being constructed on The Islands, offering a range of contemporary lifestyle options from five bed villas with beach front vistas to exclusive modern single storey villas located in the centre of The Islands. 

The Island's public area lighting consists of 1,743 modern styled street lamps as well as 7,385 low level lighting lamps to enable better visibility for residents at night.  The lighting system has been specially designed to offer contemporary looking and effective lighting across the various areas of the island, including the public roads, parks, lakes and beach fronts.  Lighting has also been switched on across the bridge which connects the island to the mainland.

Jassim Al Jawder, CEO of Durrat Al Bahrain, said, "The lighting of our first Island is another important step in the progress of Durrat Al Bahrain.  We can now see and feel how our Islands will look to our home owners at night.  We have invested a lot of time and effort in ensuring that we have lighting systems that will provide effective lighting across all of the public areas of The Islands for all of our residents.  From our test lighting today, we can see that this effort has paid off, as the lighting helps to create a well-lit and safe environment, which also shows off the community elements of The Islands, such as the parks, lakes and beachfronts.  This will add to the overall quality of life that our residents will experience as they live their contemporary, urban lifestyles on islands set in the Bahraini sea."

Set in the azure waters of south Bahrain, Durrat Al Bahrain will offer The Islands, 11 islands of luxury residential villas, gardens and beaches in an enchanting setting offering a sanctuary of peace and tranquillity.  In addition, The Crescent will be the urban hub of Durrat Al Bahrain, where residents and visitors will be able to lose themselves in a vibrant, cosmopolitan world of sensational dining experiences and exclusive designer shopping, right in the heart of Durrat Al Bahrain.  Residents, businesses and visitors will not only be able to live island lifestyles, but they will also benefit from The Golf Course, an 18 hole golf course designed by Ernie Els, the world-renowned golf champion.  The Golf Course will comprise a challenging course, a club house, a driving range, a luxury hotel complex and 1400 stylishly designed luxury residential villas and apartments arranged around landscaped waterways.  In partnership with Tameer, Durrat Khaleej Al Bahrain will also offer The Marina, one of the region's leading marinas covering 700,000 m²? and offering 400 berths in a stunning location across three islands.  Residents and visitors will be able to sail, jet-ski, cruise on a motor boat or simply soak up the quay-side activity.

-Ends-

About Durrat Al Bahrain
Durrat Al Bahrain is owned by the Durrat Khaleej Al Bahrain Company, in which the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and Kuwait Finance House - Bahrain each hold a 50 percent stake. Durrat Al Bahrain, a 21 km?² area of pristine waters and untouched beaches, once complete, is expected to be approximately the size of Manama, Bahrain's capital city.

Durrat Al Bahrain has been planned as a world-class residential, commercial and tourist destination, offering a unique island based urban lifestyle.  It is where the buzz of a world-class city meets the beauty and tranquillity of an island. Upon completion by 2015 it is expected that there will be more than 60,000 permanent residents as well as some 4,500 visitors a day. 

The master planner/architect of the project is Atkins, the renowned engineering design and consultancy; project/development manager is KMC Bovis, a joint venture between the Kuwaiti Manager Company and Bovis Lend Lease and HAJ is the quantity surveyor for the development.

Media Contact:
Nabeela Mohammed
Financial Dynamics
Tel: 17 537 072

© Press Release 2008