MANAMA, 23 November 2004 — Work is under way on a 75 million Bahraini dinar beach resort in Budaiya off the King Fahd Causeway that links Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. The project, financed by Bahraini company A. A. Janahi Holdings, will be built on an area of around 800,000 square meters at Al Dafna Al Hamra, in the northern area of Budaiya.
The new 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,” said Northern Municipal Councilor Faraj Al Dossary. “Budaiya is closest city next to the causeway and by creating such resorts the number of tourists traveling 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.” 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 Urbanization Committee and the Northern Municipal Council. “I held several meetings with the area’s residents to discuss the benefits of the projects and listened to their views,” said Al Dossary.
“I then discussed their comments and demands with the project’s developers, who agreed on all the points raised.”
He said that since it was the first project of this size to be carried out in the area, residents demanded 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 country’s Islamic beliefs and customs,” said Al Dossary.
Developers have also agreed to grant priority to job-seekers from the area and predict the project will create 300 jobs.
“Another condition is that the area’s existing public facilities would not be used, such as electricity and water,” said Al Dossary.
“They would be responsible of building their own water and electricity stations.”
Meanwhile, 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 also promised to rebuild the existing fishing harbor next to the resort, which currently offers very few facilities to fishermen,” he said.
