Focus on projects in Capital governorate

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Capital governorate is poised to witness substantial developments with 18 vital projects receiving approval for execution during the 2021 -”22 period. The projects include walkways, parks, playgrounds, commercial complexes, waterfront projects, and markets, said Shaikh Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Khalifa

Some of the projects, the Undersecretary for Municipal Affairs said, are in for private sector cooperation. Shaikh Mohammed said this during a virtual discussion on infrastructure projects in the Capital Governorate with Sheikh Mohammed bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, the Undersecretary for Municipal Affairs, Ahmed Al-Khayyat, the Undersecretary for Works Affairs, Shawqiah Humaidan, the Assistant Undersecretary for Joint Municipal Services, and Muhammad Saad Al-Sahli, the Director-General of the Capital Municipality, and Ministry officials.

The undersecretary told the meeting that the development of the water park has reached advanced stages and is expecting completion this year itself. The project will have multiple service buildings, more green areas, and a well-maintained lake. On the Saud Al-Faisal Walkway, he said the implementation of the project that extends to the Al-Fateh Al-Qaim Street Corniche is ongoing and would finish this year. The ministry, he said, is also working on the beautification of the Mina Salman intersection with 16,000 square meters of an area at an estimated cost of BD400,000.

The waterfront project at King Faisal Corniche is also ongoing and is in phase one development. “The 70,800 square meter project has walkways, play areas, playgrounds, green spaces, service buildings and restaurants overlooking the waterfront,” he said. On Jidhafs Market development, Shaikh Mohammed said the project includes a 370 square meter area fish market, a 290 square meter area meat market, a 250 square meter area vegetables and fruits market, public services, and other utility spaces.

The project, he said, is currently in its design phase. The undersecretary also talked about projects under study and earmarked for development in partnership with the private sector. These include the Seef Boulevard development project in coordination with Edamah, a park in the Jid Ali area of Complex 721 and the construction of several multi-use playgrounds.

The Seef Boulevard project includes cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating with a total area of 22,525 square metres. In the first phase, modern buildings, shopping centres and green spaces will come up. Restaurants and shops would come up in the second phase. The multi-use playground project, he said, is part of an initiative by His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa to establish 100 playgrounds in Bahrain.

Roads, sewage, buildings and municipal affairs

Ahmed Abdulaziz Al-Khayyat, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning for Work Affairs, said the ministry is implementing several projects in sectors including roads, sewage, buildings and municipal affairs.

Al-Fateh Street development, he said, is one of the projects ongoing which will contribute to the development of the road network in Bahrain. The project calls for developing three lanes in each direction at the intersection of Al Fateh street, along with a signal-controlled ground intersection, a flyover with lanes for traffic from Manama towards Juffair, underground tunnels and the expansion of Al Fateh street into four lanes in each direction.

The ministry, he said, is also in the process of developing Road 3330 and road surrounding complex 733 in the Al Nasifa area, dirt roads in Block 624 in the Al Aker area, roads in the block 360 in Zinj area, and roads surrounding the water park in Block 312. He also revealed that several projects are up for tender. These include a two-lane for reverse circulation on King Faisal Street towards the Avenues Mall, a right-turning lane from 23rd Street to 13th Street in the Tubli area, a path from King Faisal Street to Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Street near the City Center Mall, among others.

Sewage projects

On the sewage projects, he said the ministry is currently implementing a rainwater drainage network in Al Aker to serve the housing project of Horat Sanad, a main sewage water line from the Juffair area to the Al-Ghurifa area and expansion of the Tubli Wastewater Treatment Plant (Phase IV). The ministry, he said, had also started the construction of a sewage line to increase the capacity of sewage stations in the Juffair area. “There are also other upcoming projects, which are in various design phases,” he said.

Building sector

On the building sector, Al Khayat said the most important project is the three buildings of the Tubli station, which includes the construction of an administration building, a workshop and a laboratory. On the expansion project of the old Bilad Health Centre, he said the ministry had completed the design and tender. The project aims at adding new clinics and medical consultation rooms.

Projects in the design or preliminary states include the AlFarij stadiums initiative (Jurdab Stadium) and the Jidhafs market project. The stadium project is part of a project by HH Shaikh Nasser to establish sports stadiums in residential neighbourhoods. The Jidhafs market aims at demolishing the existing building and providing a new single-storey building. Al Khayat said the ministry is also carrying out the maintenance works of 42 government buildings this year, which also includes 18 schools.

Central Market in Manama

Mohammed Saad Al-Sahli, the Director-General of the Capital Municipality, said the development of the Central Market in Manama is attracting substantial interest for its vitality to commercial trade in Bahrain. He said a team of officials from the LuLu, Capital Municipality and Edamah are meeting periodically to follow up on the development works of the complex.

Manama Central Market, he said, recently underwent several improvements to provide the best services to traders and buyers. “We are working on truck parking lots, paving and asphalting on an area of more than 18,000 square metres,” he said, adding that the municipality will privatise the parking lots. “We are also planning to reconstruct the toilets in the central market, for which tendering for works at five places are ongoing.” He said works are also progressing to install solar lights at open spaces in the market to save 30% to 40% energy per year. “The Capital Municipality is working to increase the green cover in the market.,” he added.

Sitra Central Market

On the Sitra Central Market development, he said the Capital Municipality is redistributing the parking lots and constructing concrete walls around the facility. The municipality, he said, is also working on a project to establish a park in Hoora and a BD185,000 project to establish a walkway in Umm Al-Hassam. Chairman of the Capital Municipality Council, Saleh Tarada, said the council is looking forward to establishing sustainable and environmentally friendly projects by joining hands with the private sector and attracting more investments.

Dr Maha Al Shehab, a member of the Capital Municipality Council, said the projects that came up for discussion are some of the most awaited projects. “The water park, Saud Al Faisal walkway, Umm Al Hassam walkway, central market projects are some of the projects most awaited by people,” she said. Al Shehab also called for utilising renewable energy in these projects to ensure their sustainability factor