A Boeing 747, which will form the centrepiece of the world’s largest eco-friendly underwater theme park in Bahrain, has finally reached its destination.
The 70-metre plane, which was purchased for $100,000, has been submerged below the surface off Hair Al Shathiya, a protected marine site in the north of the mainland, as part of the Dive Bahrain project.
A 31-second video posted on its Twitter account shows divers carrying out safety inspections before “final preparations get underway”.
Our divers doing safety inspections this morning before final preparations get underway
— divebahrain (@divebahrain) June 15, 2019
جولة تفقدية صباح اليوم قبل بدء مرحلة التجهيزات النهائية#DiveBahrain #Dive #Bahrain #Scubadiving #SCE #BahrainOursYours #ecotourism #underwater #underwaterworld pic.twitter.com/ov9CYGWPm8
In another tweet, Dive Bahrain said the aircraft "was settling in nicely in her new home, and looking forward to welcoming (visitors) from August".
Settling in nicely to her new home.. and looking forward to welcoming you from August ✈️ 🥽
— divebahrain (@divebahrain) June 15, 2019
الطائرة مستقرة في محطتها الجديدة وترحب بهواة الغوص بدءً من شهر اغسطس القادم#DiveBahrain #Dive #Bahrain #Scubadiving #SCE #BahrainOursYours #ecotourism #underwater #underwaterworld pic.twitter.com/0bNXhiUU8C
The GDN reported on June 14 that the plane has been specially modified to meet strict environmental standards and will be an iconic attraction at a dive spot covering an area of more than 100,000 square metres.
The first phase of the underwater theme park project also includes submerging replicas of a traditional Bahraini pearl merchant's house, artificial coral reefs and sculptures made from eco-friendly material.
The second phase will witness an underwater sculpture gallery featuring work by local and international artists, decommissioned ships that will be submerged at the site and reef balls to guide divers to different locations of the park.
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