Manama: An investor behind a proposed theme park in Muharraq, which was set to feature Bahrain’s first indoor ski slope, will seek BD5 million in compensation if his contract is terminated.
The Muharraq Municipal Council says it has cancelled the contract to develop Muharraq Grand Garden after two years passed without construction starting.
However, Bahraini investor Fouad Shuwaitar – who claims he has received no official notice from the Works, Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Ministry – has blamed delays on the government’s failure to relocate key sewage and water infrastructure from beneath the site.
“It is not my fault that the garden is not prepared for us to carry out work,” he told the GDN.
“The place has key sewage and water infrastructure underneath that needs to be removed, but for two years it has remained untouched.
“We told the council that we would do the work (to remove the infrastructure) instead of the concerned ministries at a cost of BD300,000, in exchange for an extension to our lease, but it refused saying the contract couldn’t be changed.
“They need to solve the problem and we are ready to start work the same day (it is resolved). I have my engineers, workers and subcontractors ready to step in.
“I didn’t receive anything official about the termination of my contract, but if that’s the case I will take it to arbitration.
“I have receipts for over BD5m, besides my BD200,000 deposit currently in municipal coffers.”
Sources told the GDN that some of the facilities that prevented work from going ahead had been removed, but others required time and money to be relocated.
They added that no budget had yet been allocated to clear the rest of the site.
Mr Shuwaitar said that his health had suffered as a result of delays in commencing work on the ambitious theme park.
Overhaul
“I wanted to do business and ended up ill through the improper treatment I have
received,” he claimed.
The radical overhaul of the garden, which carried a BD20m price tag, involves construction of an ice rink, indoor sports arena, aquatic museum, karting track and three-storey shopping centre, among other things.
The project had already been plagued by delays when former Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Minister Dr Juma Al Ka’abi signed an agreement with Mr Shuwaitar in October 2013 to start
development.
Former council members earlier voted to axe the proposal, but did a U-turn just three days before the deal was signed after a new consortium came in to fund the development.
The previous council was initially hesitant to give Mr Shuwaitar the go-ahead after a group of GCC partners withdrew from the project, but gave him the green light after he later joined forces with India-based Golden Globe Trading and Consultancy Services.
However, current council chairman Mohammed Al Sinan claimed that the current issues surrounding sewage and water infrastructure should have been resolved already.
“We want the abandoned garden developed and it is now around a decade since people were able to use it,” he said.
“The contract (with Mr Shuwaitar) has been terminated and the investor can negotiate with the ministry. We have recommended (to cancel the contract) and it was
approved.”
It is not the first time an
ambitious project has stalled at the park.
Plans to turn it into a “miniature Disneyland” were announced in 2007, but that project was later scrapped after the Kuwaiti investor pulled out citing losses incurred during the global financial crisis.
The Works, Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Ministry could not be reached for comment.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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