DAMMAM, 20 May — A major tourism project will be established in Bahrain at a cost of $1 billion. A number of prominent Gulf businessmen will invest in the project, which includes a five-star hotel, two four-star hotels and three three-star hotels as well as residential and commercial complexes.
This was disclosed by Saud Abdul Aziz Kanoo, chairman of Ossas for Real Estate Development based in Manama. The company, which has a capital of $40 million, will announce its objectives and projects today.
The businessmen who are taking part in the Amwaj Islands project include Kanoo, Abdul Hameed Dewani, Abul Qasim Shirazi, Jameel and Faisal Matrouk, Khaled Sharif and Abdullah Muhammad Saleh.
The company has floated 10 percent of shares for subscription by companies and individuals, Kanoo said, adding that the shares received good response from businessmen and individuals in the Gulf states.
The project, covering an area of three million square meters in the middle of Bahrain, will be completed within 20 to 30 months. The project’s second phase will have a golf course, a large recreation city for children, a zoo and a variety of restaurants overlooking the sea.
Bahrain’s decision allowing foreigners to own real estate properties had helped a lot in carrying out the project, he said adding that Bahrain has been receiving a lot of investment in the tourism sector, which is growing at an annual rate of nine percent. He denied reports of competition between the Amwaj project and the Durrat Bahrain project, saying the projects are located in two sides of the country. Saudi and Gulf businessmen have established a number of tourist projects in Bahrain in the past. The number of tourists visiting the Gulf state is increasing annually. Last year their number crossed 3.3 million, with tourists from the Gulf countries accounting for 18.8 percent.
