PUBLIC venues in Bahrain should be used for multiple purposes in order to make optimum use of them and generate more income, it has been proposed.
Facilities such as Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir and Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa could host a number of events, activities and programmes, members of the Southern Municipal Council believe.
They also said planned projects such as an exhibition centre and a new sports city in the Southern Governorate should be designed in such a manner that the maximum use could be made of them.
A proposal to turn Bahrain National Stadium into a multi-purpose facility was referred by the council to the Cabinet which, during its session on Monday, forwarded it to Youth and Sports Affairs Minister Aymen Almoayed for review.
“When we proposed the stadium last month, it was just to open up the issue of using current and new venues in Bahrain for multiple purposes,” said council chairman Bader Al Tamimi.
“The time when things were still managed under an old concept with a stadium being used only for football or athletics is over; now the trend is towards comprehensive venues.
“It is true that over the past years, the stadium or BIC were used for musical and entertainment purposes, but they were never managed to their full potential of making them commercially successful or attractive to tourists.
“These venues are missing their potential as they are closed half of the day and most of the year without any efforts to maximise value or the space they occupy.
“This shouldn’t be the case with the exhibition centre and the new sports city in the pipeline.”
The GDN previously reported that the council has been seeking ways to attract investors to the south, with councillors claiming last year that the government had failed to attract new developments to the governorate where the main attraction is the BIC which opened 15 years ago.
The GDN also reported last month that councillors had called for projects in the governorate to be fast-tracked including the new BD79 million exhibition centre and the BD165m sports city, as well as expansions to the BIC and Bahrain University.
They also sought more information on proposed projects such as the Bollywood City, allowing trekkers and campers inside Bahrain’s wildlife sanctuary Al Areen Wildlife Park, the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) Performance Centre and Bahrain International Village.
However, the GDN reported in January that plans to open businesses inside government schools were vetoed by the country’s largest municipal council over fears such a move would negatively affect the education system.
The Northern Municipal Council, which has 12 members, unanimously rejected the parliamentary proposal that would have knocked down school fences to build shops.
Councillors stressed that schools should only be used for educational and other related activities.
“We are also against the move to turn schools into commercial venues, but eventually schools will need to be opened throughout the day for multiple uses besides educational purposes,” said Mr Al Tamimi.
“The debate on this matter is controversial and could be addressed later as we are more concerned about turning the fortunes of existing facilities around,” he added.
“Every issue has positives and negatives but when facilities that are valued highly and cost the government millions in maintenance are not made full use of – then, clearly it is a waste.”
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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