Manama Souk on a revival mode
Manama : A multi-disciplinary team has been set up for revitalisation of Manama’s historic Souk, in order to capitalise its potential to attract heritage tourism, shopping, and regain its attractiveness, said Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani yesterday.
The minister made the statements during a meeting on the development of old Manama souk in the presence of CEO of Bahrain Authority for Tourism and Exhibitions Sheikh Khaled Bin Hamood Al Khalifa, Chairman of Old Markets Committee of BCCI Khalid Alzayani and other committee members.
“Initially we intend on protecting the existing souk because it is one of the few souks whose heritage is intact. We don’t have to construct the whole souk, like a few GCC countries have done. We just need to work on making it better,” said Hank Dittmar, the Director of Hank Dittmar Associates, the organisation responsible for the project.
Hank Dittmar also highlighted the key features of the master plan at the meeting.
“We intend on introducing a new walking route from Bab al Bahrain to the Wednesday Market with new attractions including revived traditional buildings, a centre for startups, a new public square and a reconfigured Market Square. The Bab al Bahrain square will also be established with new paving, improved facades and new facilities for drop-offs, taxis and public transport. We also plan to introduce changes to the one-way street network and improve parking and toilet facilities,” he said.
A management team would be established to handle the souk and make sure everything is running smoothly.
Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani stated that project is not only important as a heritage site but also has the potential to become a commercial landmark.
“Investing in the project will be an investment for the Kingdom which is known for its trade as a hub for traders from the east and the west. Our next step is to get an approval of the Masterplan, develop the action plan and obtain the budget,” he said.
“After getting an approval we would first pave the priority street and improve the public areas and squares. We would then evaluate and implement the traffic proposal of the souk and design new buildings and canopies.”
The Jumana Centre will be leased out as a creative economy incubator and traditional buildings on walking route will be repaired. Guidelines, information centre and a website will
also be introduced for the souk.
A management system will also be set up to manage various programmes, events and speciality markets.
Chairman of Old Markets Committee of BCCI Khalid Alzayani told DT News: “This project will give the shop owners a new opportunity to grow and flourish. We have reserved three million dinars for the project and we are going to have a study on how much the project will cost.”
On his part, CEO of Bahrain Authority for Tourism and Exhibitions Sheikh Khaled Bin Hamood Al Khalifa commended the efforts of a Joint Committee which have worked over the past months to develop the final report of the project which is expected to start by the end of this year.
Related Posts