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A prime area of Manama will be turned into a massive multi-tower office and shopping complex. The Manama Municipal Council is studying bids from two developers for the project.
The larger bid, which would cost BD139 million, has been submitted by Qatar-based Gulf Panorama Contracting and Engineering Services and the other for BD40 million by Kuwait-based Kuwait Commercial Markets Complex Company.
The site is currently a car park attached to buildings occupied by the Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs Ministry, the council and the municipality, off King Faisal Highway.
All three would occupy offices in the new complex, settling a row that has gone on for years over who should have the existing main building, built in 1919 as the home of the former Manama Municipality.
The original municipality building would be turned into a museum, showcasing municipal advancements in Bahrain over the years.
Studies predict an annual municipal income of BD3.718 million over 20 years from the Qatari project.
The Kuwaiti bidders are offering the municipality 16 per cent of the shares in the company it would establish to run the project.
Each project would take three years to build, the council has been told.
