CHILDREN’s parks, more greenery and boutique restaurants and cafés are part of an upcoming development at Bahrain Bay.
The park and the wharf at Bahrain Bay are two areas set to open by the end of next year to accommodate families and offices in the neighbourhood.
The area will accommodate more than 3,000 people by the middle of 2018, Bahrain Bay chief executive Gagan Suri told the GDN.
“We have finished sketching out the initial ideas for the park and the wharf at the Bay and they will be coming soon,” he said.
“We’re aiming to open this in December 2018, it takes a while to develop this – it’s a big project.
“But we believe nothing in Bahrain looks like this.
“The park at the Bay will have a beautiful feel, lots of greenery and aims to be a place for a quick coffee.
“It will also have boutique restaurants and children’s parks in addition to the drive-through coffee shops.
“There will also be a restaurant on the water here.
“The wharf at the Bay, on the other hand, will have medium-end restaurants, but not fast food.
“It’s inspired by City Walk and Box Park in Dubai, as well as the San Franciso, Vancouver and Seattle waterfronts.
“It’s very modern with exposed beams and more greenery.
“Both the park and the wharf will open at the same time and, all going well, infrastructure work will begin in June.”
Mr Suri said the developments were a “necessity” and would directly benefit Bahrain Bay residents, as well as the greater Manama area.
“This is necessary because it’s a public realm and we need to develop it, to continue to have the look and feel and increase traffic into Bahrain Bay,” he said.
“We need it to support the residents of Water Bay, the occupants of the existing buildings, Al Baraka and Arcapita, and soon, the Wyndham Hotel and offices.
“By the middle of next year there will be approximately 3,000 people here in total between these buildings in Bahrain Bay.
“Then when Bin Faeqa opens, that’s a couple of hundred more residents.
“They need to go for walks, children need parks, they need places to eat, to do laundry, to have a coffee – that’s what we’re preparing for.
“I take my own personal example – when the weather is nice, I want to go for a coffee with my wife and children and the options are limited.
“I think we’ve developed something that’s hugely lacking here and done it in a classy location, a very nice style and it’s just highly necessary.”
The Bahrain Bay promenade, which opens today, will also keep developing as footfall increases, he added.
“As it progresses, we have additional plans – we’ll keep enhancing it as footfall grows, kiosks will grow,” he said.
“We’ll have more events, for instance seminars or something like kite building and flying workshops, there are endless possibilities.
“With the good weather, which is six to eight months a year, we can do amazing things.”
laala@gdn.com.bh
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