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A SPECTACULAR 'green' amenity will be open to the general public through an annual membership scheme with the aim of promoting environmental awareness in the kingdom.
The Princess Sabeeka Park, created at a cost of BD3 million in Awali, is set to open its gates shortly.
The parklands, named after Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of His Majesty King Hamad and Chairwoman of the Supreme Council for Women, has been created by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) to help educate and inspire a 'greener generation'.
The park boasts water features and fountains and covers an area of 2,500 sq/m and boasts lush greenery containing more than 51,000 plants including 567 palm trees and 342 fruit and ornamental trees.
Entry to the park and all its amenities will be through a membership scheme with an annual fee of BD100 which will provide entry cards for a family.
The gardens are designed in a unique traditional pattern, using trees and plants that suit the local climate. There is also a greenhouse to help cultivate and grow plant species.
Entertainment facilities in the park include children's play areas, an open theatre for various events and exercise trails along the grounds.
One of its unique features is a 'New Energy Management Lab' costing around BD80,000 which is part of an amazing renewable energy-cum-educational project manufactured in Germany by Berlin-based Heliocentris Energiesysteme GmbH to generate 5kW of power to the park.
Hussain Al Ansari, general manager, maintenance at Bapco, believes that the park and its laboratory are integral parts of the company's corporate social responsibility obligations and will become a valuable educational and environmentally-friendly resource for the whole community.
He said: "The inception of the park came about when Princess Sabeeka visited Bapco last year. We know how strongly she feels about green issues and protecting the environment so we decided to create a project that could cater to those elements. Then she said why not build a park and we said, why not - we will!
"I collected 18 engineers and gave the job to various contractors.
"We started work last October making the decision that this would be the most beautiful park in Bahrain, built using the highest quality of materials. Everything was customised and hand-picked from the bricks and lamp posts to the palm trees and shrubs."
Park life became the order of the day for the team which worked a minimum of 16-hours-a-day until it was completed - 134 days later - on February 21.
The park has been open to Bapco employees and Awali residents in recent weeks and now Bapco has created a special membership package for all visitors to enjoy the facilities.
One of the many purposes of the park will be to welcome students from schools and universities across the island to learn more about renewable energy and use its facilities as an educational centre.
As a result it will complement perfectly Bapco's existing community initiatives such as the annual Green School Awards in which government secondary schools are rewarded for adopting measures to promote environmental awareness and manage their environmental resources.
Membership forms can be picked up at the Bapco Club reception desk. For further information contact 17753534.
