Construction work progresses at Bahrain Financial Harbour

The project, coming up at an estimated cost of $33m, extends over 5,141sqm and comprises a basement, ground floor and nine additional stories that together provide approximately 1,700 parking spaces for tenants and visitors of the Financial Centre. Terna Contracting is the general contractor of the project. The contract was signed in March 2008 and the car park should be delivered by May 31 of this year.

Commenting on the development, Dr. Omer El Mardi, Managing Director, BFHHC said:

"Construction work on the car park has already clocked over 1.8m man-hours and is progressing well. It was important for us to stick to our deadlines because occupancy of the Financial Centre is gathering momentum and footfalls are expected to increase on a daily basis. That's why we planned for a multi-level car park to address the requirements of our growing list of tenants and visitors."

"Around 75% of the project has been completed and we expect the car park to be fully operational by June this year, right on schedule. We are confident that our meticulous planning will prevent any congestion and ensure adequate space to satisfy the parking requirements of all our clients and tenants." Dr. Omer added.
The progress is linked to the fitting out schedule with an aim to avoid any overcrowding of the general area. Thus by June 2009, the capacity of the new car park will effectively meet the demand for additional parking spaces with new tenants moving in.

The Commercial East car park will feature integrated communications, security and MEP systems based on the latest technology, with built-in features for local as well as remote monitoring and control. That means its systems can be monitored from within the car park building itself or from the Financial Centre control room, which marks a first for a car park in the Middle East.

However, given the expected additional demand for parking spaces from tenants as well as the growing number of visitors to Harbour Mall, construction of a second car park will be taken up in the first half of 2009. Situated next to the West Tower, the new car park will be similar to but bigger than the one currently nearing completion. It will be connected to the West Tower and the Harbour Mall via a covered passageway for easy access.