BAHRAIN’S biggest garden in Muharraq threw open its gates to the public after being closed for 15 years.
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, deputised Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa to reopen the landmark Muharraq Grand Garden.
The opening ceremony was attended by a number of ministers, MPs, Shura Council members, municipal councillors and dignitaries.
The long-neglected park was closed in 2006 and two attempts to involve private investors in its revival – in 2007 and 2012 – failed.
The new-look park, revamped at a cost of BD3.18 million, features a children’s play area, shaded family areas and a 1km walkway, along which 22 physical fitness equipment have been installed.
The parking lot can accommodate 550 cars while 33 CCTV cameras have been placed across the garden. It also features a ‘dancing’ fountain on an arc covering 350sqm besides various types of shrubs, palms and local fruit trees such as lemon, almond and cactus.
More than 150 jojoba trees have also been planted, along with more than 1,000 date palms and ornamental palms.
Visitors to the garden, near Bahrain International Airport, will be charged 300 fils as an entry fee and 100 fils for using the restroom.
“This project is part of an integrated system of gardens, parks and recreational places in various regions of country,” said Shaikh Mohammed.
“It comes under the framework of the comprehensive development process to expand projects that guarantee an increase in the green area and enhance the tourism infrastructure.
“We are very happy with what has been achieved as it supports sustainable urban development and the development of infrastructure for parks and recreational places.”
Shaikh Mohammed also recalled the contribution of the late Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa towards the project.
“Citizens are the ultimate goal of the strategies, plans and programmes adopted by the government as a basis for sustainable development,” he said.
“Development is taking new dimensions at the tourism level under the priorities of the economic recovery plan and this project aims to support it.
“This project sees the provision of the necessary infrastructure, modern services and various recreational facilities.”
On Monday, the Muharraq Municipal Council rejected plans by an investor to charge BD2.500 for entry and BD1 for parking.
However, a new investor has come forward to invest for six months in the park and the new proposed plan involves setting up a Dino Park in the garden.
The council planned to hold an extraordinary meeting yesterday to look into the bid, but now has been postponed until next week.
“The investor is planning to charge BD1 per head with open access to all facilities should he receive the six-month deal,” said area councillor and council financial and economic affairs committee chairman Bassem Al Majdami.
“The same investor had Dino Park in the Khalifa Bin Salman Park in Hidd with entry being BD1 per head for six months in 2019 and 180,000 visited the place in that period.
“Giving it to the investor will save BD11,000 monthly on operational, maintenance and guarding costs.”
The park was closed after it became a breeding ground for vermin and snakes.
Plans to turn it into a “miniature Disneyland” were announced in 2007, but that project was scrapped after the Kuwaiti investor pulled out citing losses incurred during the global financial crisis.
In 2012, an investor planned to pump BD20m into the location for a theme park featuring the country’s first indoor ski slope, an ice rink, indoor sports arena, aquatic museum, karting track and three-storey shopping centre.
However, the council ordered the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry to cancel the contract after no work was done in three years.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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