MANAMA, 19 July 2004 — A Bahraini company announced yesterday it will soon launch construction of an island in the Gulf waters off the coast of Manama to house a $500-million complex as part of its bid to boost tourism.
Work on the “Pearl Island” project “will start next month (August)” for “completion in five to six years,” Elias Qaraan, manager of the Lulu tourist company, said.
The 552,000-square meter (5.9 million-square foot) project will boast a hotel, 70 chalets, a residential complex of 40 buildings and a marina, he said.
As the only Gulf Arab state not to export oil, Bahrain is counting on tourism to diversify its sources of revenue and has launched a series of tourist projects topping $2 billion.
With its 33 islands, Bahrain currently only has two seafront hotel resorts and seven five-star hotels but has embarked on an ambitious $1 billion tourism project to build a string of artificial islands.
