Living it up in the city centre

Construction cranes are an all too familiar sight in Bahrain these days, a testament of the surge in development on the Arabian archipelago.

But one cannot help but wonder at the massive construction site of Bahrain City Centre (BCC) on Khalifa bin Salman Highway in the Seef District that has a record of having the largest accumulation of cranes at its site.

BCC is set to be the first and the largest integrated leisure and shopping destination in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the second largest project for MAF Group after the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai.

The BD250 million expansive project will take over three years for completion and will open its doors to the public in the third quarter of 2008.

Ninety-seven per cent of the retail spaces have already been leased out.

“BCC will be a one stop shop, stay and entertainment destination for visitors and residents catering to a variety of needs and tastes.

“It is not just another mall but an all-purpose multi-use development that will boost and change the face of tourism in Bahrain,” said Mr Maher Abdulaziz AlShaer, deputy chairman of Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Investments in Bahrain.

The building site of BCC these days is swarming with hard-hatted construction workers. There is a flurry of activity in every corner and the din of construction work shows no sign of abating proving that MAF group has its sights set on delivering its iconic super mall right on time.

“We started the project armed with state-of-the-art plans and a thorough market research and studies to thwart any major setbacks during construction. We did encounter some minor difficulties along the way but those were ironed out swiftly. The government of Bahrain has made the operations as smooth as possible which is proof of its commitment to development and investment in the country,” added Mr AlShaer.

The completed City Centre will have a variety of flagship stores, 55 per cent of which will be new to Bahrain like Saks Fifth Avenue, H&M, Virgin Mega Store, Ferragamo, Burberry, XOXO, Zara Homes and the hypermarket Carrefour to name a few.

But despite early talks and plenty of speculation Swedish retail giant Ikea will not be opening a store.

The retail spaces have already been zoned out in the planning phase into a luxury item zone, traditional souq zone, entertainment zone to facilitate the flow of customers in the mall. The planned entertainment area boasts the biggest indoor temperature-controlled water park, the region’s largest cinema facility for movie buffs, bowling alley and the list goes on.

According to Mr AlShaer BCC’s concept is like that of the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, another MAF project.

BCC is the largest single phase construction project in Bahrain so far as all the other projects were completed in stages.

It prides itself in employing maximum manpower and resources available in Bahrain.

“We are planning to employ a maximum number of Bahraini workforce in the management of the facility instead of hiring expatriates to fill those slots. We have a Bahraini company to manage our Cineplex and so forth,” says Mr AlShaer highlighting some of the positive aspects of the project.

A mega project like BCC will further breathe life into Bahrain’s economy by attracting investment and tourism, creating jobs and providing an avenue for the residents to spend on the island.

With an exciting array of retail and leisure facilities, BCC promises to be a glitzy oasis of fun on the island of golden smiles.

Fantastic figures

Cost of the project: BD250 million.

Manpower: 4,500 workers at the peak of construction.

Cranes: 14 operating at the site

Gross built-up area: 450,000 sqm.

Gross leasable area: 150,000 sqm.

Parking space: 5,500 spaces at seven levels.

Indoor and outdoor water park: 12,000 sqm.

Hotel rooms: 460 rooms combined for both 4-star and 5-star.

Dining options: 21 food courts and 33 restaurants and cafes.

Retail outlets: 330 stores.

Cinemas: 20 screens totalling 8,000 sqm