THE home of one of the kingdom’s most popular hypermarkets received a right royal welcome as crowds gathered in huge numbers for the official inauguration of Muharraq Central by HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain.

The complex, which is spread over 28,000sqm, or four times the size of the old market it replaced, features underground parking for 180 cars, 61 multi-purpose commercial units, in addition to sections for vegetables, meat and fish.

The kingdom’s eighth Lulu Hypermarket - and 171st globally - covers the entire first floor of the new complex, as highlighted in last week’s GulfWeekly, was also later opened last Wednesday by Deputy Premier Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa.

The Prime Minister highlighted the government’s ‘keenness to develop central markets in a way that copes with rapid urbanisation and meets the aspirations of citizens and residents’, our sister daily newspaper’s portal, GDNonline reported, as he toured the complex and was briefed on its facilities by Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf.

Those also present at the inauguration were Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalifa bin Daij, President of HRH Crown Prince Court, Zayed Al Zayani, Minister of Commerce, Industry & Tourism, Essam Bin Abdulla Khalaf, Minister of Works, Municipalities & Urban Planning, Salman bin Isa bin Hindi, Governor of Muharraq, Yusuff Ali MA, chairman of Lulu Group, and other dignitaries and VIPs, including ambassadors and leading businessmen.

Delighted Yusuff Ali, who flew into Bahrain for the occasion, said: “The opening of our latest hypermarket in the kingdom is a sign of our steady confidence in the bright future of Bahrain.  

“Our total investment in the Kingdom of Bahrain has already crossed BD130m with eight hypermarkets and one mall. Apart from this, our state-of-the-art logistics centre spread around 400,000sqft, and trading and distribution through the centre not only supports our retail expansion but also helps in ensuring food security.”

Yusuff Ali reiterated Lulu’s commitment to the government’s training and employment goals for Bahrainis. “It is our endeavour to nurture local talent and the proof of this is our strong Bahraini workforce that form the nucleus of our operations here in Bahrain,” he added.

There are more than 1,200 Bahrainis, which include 450 women, who currently work across the group and Lulu is in the process of giving employment to another 500 Bahrainis within the next 12 months.

Lulu is on an expansion drive and is all set to open another 32 hypermarkets and shopping malls in the GCC, Far East and India by 2020. And the Gulf Daily News, last week, reported that it plans to open three more hypermarkets in Bahrain within the next eight months.

The top retailer says it is rapidly expanding its network to cater to the growing needs of the vast multinational consumers, especially in the new and expanding suburbs. As reported in GulfWeekly, Yusuff Ali, proudly brandishing a copy of last week’s GulfWeekly’s front page, said: “It has been our policy to reach nearer to the people.”

The redesign of the Muharraq Central Market space is expected to help revitalise business in one of the most historic trading hubs of Bahrain. It will serve the residents of Muharraq and Busaiteen, which are densely-populated residential areas.

Bulldozers started demolishing the then-35-year-old rundown Muharraq Central Market back in 2013 allowing it to finally get a much-anticipated BD1.45 million facelift after four years of delays. There was some concern raised by market stall holders about the cost of setting up at the new complex but they now have a choice. The Premier said that the central market’s temporary building would be kept and at the same rent for vendors who want to stay there.