A SIXTH attempt to sell off a stalled real estate project in Bahrain has failed to attract any interest.
No bidders showed up for yesterday’s auction of Amwaj Gateway, despite the reserve price being lowered to BD17.5 million.
For the second consecutive time, empty chairs at the Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Ministry headquarters in the Diplomatic Area reflected the lack of interest among investors in the country to buy the stalled development.
However, a seventh attempt to find buyers for the project will be made on December 10, with a starting price of BD17.5m, according to a statement by Bahrain’s Judicial Committee for the Settlement of Stalled Real Estate Projects.
“The committee said that the decision to postpone the Amwaj Gateway project auction comes as part of its efforts to resolve stalled real estate projects and safeguard the rights of all parties,” the statement added.
A source told the GDN the panel has received queries from buyers interested in the property.
“There is certainly a lot of interest now in the project because the reserve price has been lowered,” said the source.
“It (price) will not be lowered any further for the next auction.”
Members of the committee held a closed-door meeting yesterday for more than 30 minutes to discuss the project.
The project first went under the hammer in August last year with a reserve price of BD36m, but failed to attract any bids.
There were also no bids during a second auction in November 2017, when the reserve price was lowered to BD30.5m.
A third attempt to sell off the property was made in December 2017, at a reserve price of BD25.5m, but again it failed to generate any response.
At an auction in March this year, Bahrain-based M-Tech Services successfully bid BD22.5m to purchase the entire project.
It was the fourth time the development was put up for auction with its reserve price slashed, but the sale broke down because the buyer failed to meet certain requirements.
The asking price was then lowered to BD20m, which was down more than a third compared with its original project value of $183m (BD70m) when it was launched in 2007.
However, the fifth attempt to sell the project in October this year also failed to generate an interest.
Meanwhile, Saudi Tayib Abdullah, who paid BD140,000 deposit for a three-bedroom apartment in the stalled project, said the delays in finding a buyer for the project is affecting the reputation of Bahrain.
“It is unfortunate that such a good project is facing this situation,” he said at yesterday’s auction attempt.
“Like many investors, I am disappointed with the delays and this also affects the reputation of the country.”
The beachfront project was scheduled for completion in 2010. However, work stalled in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis and in 2015 it was among projects referred to the government committee.
The project, covering 360,000sqft, was originally promoted by Bahrain-based RealCapita and Yara Investments.
So far, 65 per cent of 191 units in the East Tower of the development has been completed along with 40pc in the West Tower, while 50pc of a planned hotel has been finished.
sandy@gdn.com.bh
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