Hi, well read about this a while ago about al futtaim building a mall without much details, I think it was slated as a 6 floor shopping mall with 1.6 million sq ft, maybe they changed it a bit, but here are the details, Enjoy:


A massive new commercial mall incorporating two luxury hotels is to be built in Bahrain at a cost of BD150 million, it was revealed last night.

The project will be the biggest of its kind in Bahrain, cover 140,000sqm and include a water games city, cinemas, a hypermarket and a mega park capable of accommodating 6,000 cars.

"The project will rank among the biggest ventures of its kind in the Gulf and the Arab world," said Geoffrey Rozli, deputy chairman of Al Futtaim Investment Group, which is to finance the development.

He was speaking after a meeting with Capital Governor Shaikh Humood bin Abdulla Al Khalifa who said the project was in line with efforts to make Bahrain a leading regional economic and commercial hub in the region.

Of the two hotels, one will be five-star and the other four-star.

That is approximately if am not wrong $567 million, which is pretty not bad. I'll try and get a pic soon.

Latest Futtaim news:

As part of a strategy to expand its retail and residential portfolio in the region, Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Investments is finalising details for a second mall in Cairo, its third in Egypt. Construction is scheduled to start this year, according to a top official.

The expansion in Egypt comes at a time when MAF has embarked on one of the biggest retail developments in the Middle East with the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. With an outlay of Dh3 billion, the project will be completed in two years.

Already, over 70 per cent of the retail space has been booked, with Kuwait's Al Shaya Group, Broadway, Al Tayer and Landmark Groups taking up big chunks for franchises such as Debenhams, Next, Mango, Zara and Areej.

In the medium term, it is studying an entry into Saudi Arabia, most likely in alliance with partners given the nature of the market. Syria and Iran also figure on the radar.

The MAF Group, which has the Middle East and North Africa rights of French retailer Carrefour, operates three malls in the UAE and one in Muscat, in addition to the two in Egypt.

It has finalised plans for Bahrain and Beirut.

"Our existing malls represent some of the biggest privately developed projects in Egypt and have been quite successful. We are delighted with the response. Egypt is a great learning curve for us," said Peter Walichnowski, chief executive officer.

Retail represents over 80 per cent of the group's revenues.

"Over the next five years, it will continue to be the main driver of our business as we have built up our competitive advantages specifically in this sector. Real estate, we realise, requires large capital investments and takes up a lot of effort," he said. "But we are in it for the long term."

In Mirdif, MAF Investments is developing a new retail park on three million square feet which, according to Walichnowski, will be far removed from existing concepts.

Mirdif has been growing in stature as a prime residential area and a retail initiative will fit in well with the broader plans for the area.

Putting up hotel facilities represents another diversification for the group: a 400-room five-star hotel will be built as part of the Mall of the Emirates, while another site in Deira is earmarked for a prestigious five-star hotel.

Then there is the residential project that will be coming up near Dubai International Airport.

For MAF Investments, the expansion of its retail interests coincide neatly with a general upturn of the property market in Dubai over two years, which, industry observers feel, could last awhile.

was checking the news also and thought wow i can post some good news in the forum, but you've already doen that ;)

the price for this mall is exactly 398m $
not bad at all
for this price you can expect a megamall with incredible features and design

are there already pics? i mean on the same day of the unveiling, that is unusual

hehe ya i just saw the price and i really hiked it up hehe. well i saw a sketch in a newspaper 2 months ago but not an online version. I'll try and find one.

more and more amazing malls will soon characterize the middle east :)
thanks for your research effort

there will be a couple of unique malls soon, dubai mall, mall of arabia, gardens mall in dubai
this one in b
does q have any famous big malls?

ya doha city center in qatar, was the 7th largest mall in the world when opened, if am not wrong either 270,000 or 280,000 sq m, so it's bigger than the deira city center.

dubai-lover, can u add the price tag in dollars in the title for other ppl to understand cause they might not understand what bd is.

Bahraini spirt do you know where the new mall will open and when will it be completed?

As for qatar, right now there are expansions going on in doha city center. they are adding about two or so hotels and a conference hall. In addition there is a very amazing mall opening right in the middle of the sports complex by the national stadium called valegio! suppose to have an italian theme to it!

well qatar4ever, this might sound really crazy, but I think it's that huge plot of land facing seef mall. From what I've heard and read, its goin to be built in the seef area, if not that plot facing seef, somewhere in the hood. That is unless they change the location. First thing that will spring into mind is TRAFFIC. They better do somethin about it. It's good those flyovers are being built but imagine 6 shopping malls in a 1 mile radius (that is if u include marina mall), crazy.


Say qatar, do you have any extra information about valegio mall (size, features, etc.)? I really like that name and ya it should have an italian theme to it.

it also gets more and more popular to add hotels to shopping malls
there only little malls without hotels

title changed

oh yea, from what i read, it's either going to be called Bahrain City Center or Mall of Bahrain and i don't think mall of bahrain is good since we have already Bahrain Mall. But yet again, the names aren't officially announced.

i just hope it won't get any of these two names. so many mall are called city center or mall of xxx
gets boring with the time
more creativity please

i'd like to see new titles like bur juman or mercato or gardens mall in dubai

Let's hope so, but it's up to al futtaim to decide on the name, and I think they'll give it a boring one, unless they surprise me with a very interesting one.

they, al futtaim, build a mall in dubai called the mall of the emirates
formerly known as souk al nakheel

ya i know that, if they kept it as souq al nakheel, it would have been much nicer. Let's wait and see, I won't expect much from the name though hehe.

I saw a sketch in the newspaper in the summer but it wasn't clear. They had a lot of projects showcased and this was one of them.

uff!! not another mall in that area!! ya rabbi!! I hate coming to bahrain because coming from the airport i have to pass through that area!! and OMG the traffic!! why these many malls in one area!! I honestly think they should build this on in the juffair area!! or somewhere in those huge plots of land on the highway that takes u to saudi arabia!! That will be a nice place and they wouldnt have to worry about traffic.

I think they should call it city center bahrain!! City Center has sort of become a trademark for a upscale huge mall. Dubai and doha have one and both are huge and probably considerd the best in their areas! This is why i think city center bahrain will build on this image!!

Another thing, the land between seef mall and ritz is way to valuable to build a mall in it, also they should not allow for these stupid little apt building there. Anything under twenty floors shouldnt be allowed tobe built in this very expanise area!!

I do agree with you, I heard a rumour that they might build a building taller than the almoayyed tower in that area. Well, the prices are just crazy there, god knows how much for a sq. m. It could do with some better planning but once this area fills am sure that there will be another similar one not far off, they'll create more land and there you go. But ya the traffic will be crazy, it's already terrible. With those flyovers, am hopin things will be a bit better, but am not puttin a lot of high hopes.

a taller tower than al moayyed? i hope this one will go through
more taller towers needed both in q and b :)

well the good news for bahrain is that 4 towers over 200m are u/c so thats good. Hopefully in the future we'll get more. Bahrain and qatar are slowly changing into highrise places. I read that in qatar, a chinese company won a $115 million contract to build a tower, wonder which one it is.

Well i think bahrain needs really tall tower, but i doubt qatar does for the time being. We have to much space, so there is no real need to build skyscrapers yet. I think a 22 to 30 story building is very suitable for qatar for the time being.

well the good news for bahrain is that 4 towers over 200m are u/c so thats good. Hopefully in the future we'll get more. Bahrain and qatar are slowly changing into highrise places. I read that in qatar, a chinese company won a $115 million contract to build a tower, wonder which one it is.

and those 4 towers are 2 twin towers, dual towers and sheraton city gardens
i'd like to see a single one
115 m $? quite a lot of money for the middle east, so it's definitely gonna be a tall one

A BD5 million ($13.2 million), 20-screen, 3,600-seat cinema complex is to be built in Bahrain. The Megaplex will occupy an area of 8,000 square metres and will be the largest of its kind, not only in the Middle East, but also South East Asia, said officals.

It will be built at the giant Bahrain City Centre complex, which will overlook the sea at Seef.

Bahrain Cinema Company signed a BD5 million agreement with Majid Al Futtaim Investments of Dubai to equip and lease 20 cinema screens in the shopping and hotels complex.

Bahrain Cinema Company managing director Dr Esam Fakhro said that the project would enhance the company's position in the cinema sector in Bahrain and would enable it to retain the largest market share.

He said that the BD5 million agreement included construction work, internal fittings, furniture and state-of-the-art visual and audio equipment.

Bahrain Cinema Company general manager Ahmed Rashed said that the project would add to the total number of cinema seats owned by the company.

The total number of cinema seats in Bahrain City Centre, which will be three times larger than the biggest shopping Mall at present in Bahrain, will be 3,600.

The total numbers of seats owned by Bahrain Cinema Company at present in Bahrain is 4,872.

The company also has 14 screens with 2,125 seats in City Centre Doha in Qatar.

The new project will also create a minimum of 100 job opportunities mostly for Bahraini nationals.

'We chose Bahrain Cinema Company for this project for several reasons, but most importantly due to it being a national company with a vast experience in this sector,' said Bahrain Majid Al Futtaim Investments property development general manager Maher Al Shaer.

'We look forward to implementing this project and we hope to strengthen our ties further through more projects in the future.

'As for construction work on Bahrain City Centre, this is due to begin towards the end of this month,and is due for completion before December 16, 2006, in time for Bahrain's National Day celebrations.'

He said that the City Centre would overlook the sea and would occupy an area of 450,000 square metres.

The three-storey centre will offer 150,000 square metres for leasing, and parking space for 6,000 cars will also be available in a purpose built six-storey building.

The project also includes one five star hotel and a four-star hotel with a total of 600 rooms.

The signing was attended by Ahmed Rashed, Majid Al Futtaim Investments chief executive officer Peter Walichnowski and Majid Al Futtaim Investments senior officials Steve Lalic, Graham Deverman and Shahram Shamasaee.-

wow
a huge cinema complex

is this unnamed mall now named bahrain city center???
please help

Well, I'll doubt it can be the 'Mall of Bahrain' cause we already have 'Bahrain Mall' and mostly 'Bahrain City Center' has been used a lot so ya, you can change the title to that name. If any changes happen, I'll tell you. For now, it'll be better than being called the 'Unnamed Mall' hehe.

It is now the Bahrain City Center as of the latest news, so I suppose Al Futtaim want the City Center brand goin as it's already estblished well in Dubai.

Moody, what's the latest news on this one since you're there cause nothing has been published online? Last thing i heard was that they'll start workin on it end of January.

cool
i'll change thread title

Bahraini spirit,

There is a huge construction site next to Lolo fly overs/ Central Market which is also on the other side of the highway adjacent to Dana Mall. I guess such size will accompany the city center mall. there are also tents on that side, gives a signal that they will launch the project soon ( in case this i'm correct)

That's probably it, if it's a huge site, then most likely it's the mall. Here is what i found:

While residential buildings are currently its forte, Bahrain Engineering Bureau is building the first office building on a newly-designated commercial strip from the Seef Mall to the Ritz Carlton, which is expected to be built on the lines of the Beirut Central District (BCD) being developed by Solidere in Lebanon, explains Khaleed Jamshir, proprietor of BEB.
Bahrain Engineering Bureau – which offers architectural, structural and mechanical designing expertise – is specialised in high-quality buildings.

The practice expects to have a total of 10 buildings under construction over the next six months, while nine others and one hotel tower are expected to be ready for tender over the period.

Ok here we go, this is the official launch of the mall, some great statistics (not quite the mall of the emirates or dubai mall), but still amazing, enjoy:


Majid Al Futtaim Investments to build City Centre; Bahrain's first leisure and shopping resort
UAE-based regional property developer Majid Al Futtaim Investments announced today that it will introduce the hugely successful 'City Centre' shopping, entertainment and leisure brand to Bahrain, with the island's biggest retail complex set to open in Manama.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


http://www.ameinfo.com/images/news/8/12188-pet.jpg
Peter Walichnowski, CEO, Majid Al Futtaim Investments.

At a ground breaking ceremony attended by His Excellency Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance, and the Governor of Manama, as well as other dignitaries, final plans were announced and the architectural model unveiled for the 1.5 million square foot mixed-use shopping centre.

The project, which will house the Middle East's largest 20-screen Cineco Cinema, and more than 350 stores also features a 54,000 square foot family entertainment centre, called Magic Planet and two hotels with a total of 700 hotel rooms combined, which will directly link to the mall itself. The resort will also be home to the largest indoor water park in the Middle East, covering 135,000 square feet and providing a temperature controlled aquatic experience to visitors all year round. Bahrain City Centre will include ten anchor stores and negotiations are already underway with two major international department stores. Other facilities will include 30 international restaurants and Bahrain's first Carrefour hypermarket, which will span an impressive 172,000 square feet, as well as 6,000 covered car parking spaces.

'Bahrain is a very exciting market and a natural progression for the regional expansion of the 'City Centre' brand name,' said Peter Walichnowski, CEO, Majid Al Futtaim Investments, 'Like all of our malls, Bahrain City Centre will have several 'firsts' for the region, both in terms of its sheer size and scope as well as its unique offering of a fully integrated shopping and leisure destination. We are confident that the centre's innovative and distinctive mix of international and local brands will not only transform the retail environment of Bahrain but also establish a benchmark for the regional market.'

Leasing interest in the property has already been significant, with lease offers for almost 70% of the new centre already, and a target opening date set for early 2007.

Majid Al Futtaim Group of Companies has changed the face of shopping, entertainment and leisure in the Middle East, driven by the vision of its founder and chairman, Mr. Majid Al Futtaim. Established in 1992, the Group has rapidly become a business of international significance. Credited with successfully bringing the concepts of the mega mall and the hypermarket to the region, the Group started from its Dubai base and is now operating six successful shopping centres in the Arab world with plans in place to take its pioneering concepts into other major cities in the Middle East, including Bahrain.

Work begins on Bahrain's biggest retail complex


Low res render (can't see much though)
http://tradearabia.com/source/2005-02/22/citycentre.jpg

UAE-based regional property developer Majid Al Futtaim Investments announced today that it would introduce the hugely successful 'City Centre' shopping, entertainment and leisure brand to Bahrain, with the island's biggest retail complex set to open in Manama.

The project, which will house the Middle East's largest 20-screen Cineco Cinema, and more than 350 stores also features a 54,000 square foot family entertainment centre, called Magic Planet and two hotels with a total of 700 hotel rooms combined, which will directly link to the mall itself.

Final plans were announced and the architectural model was unveiled for the 1.5 million square foot mixed-use shopping centre at a ground breaking ceremony held today,

The event was held under the patronage of Crown Prince and BDF Commander-in-Chief Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, the Governor of Manama as well as other dignitaries attended the event.

The resort will also be home to the largest indoor water park in the Middle East, covering 135,000 square feet and providing a temperature controlled aquatic experience to visitors all year round.

Bahrain City Centre will include ten anchor stores and negotiations are already underway with two major international department stores.

Other facilities will include 30 international restaurants and Bahrain's first Carrefour hypermarket, which will span an impressive 172,000 square feet, as well as 6,000 covered car parking spaces.

'Bahrain is a very exciting market and a natural progression for the regional expansion of the 'City Centre' brand name,' said Peter Walichnowski, CEO, Majid Al Futtaim Investments.

'Like all of our malls, Bahrain City Centre will have several 'firsts' for the region, both in terms of its sheer size and scope as well as its unique offering of a fully integrated shopping and leisure destination.

'We are confident that the centre's innovative and distinctive mix of international and local brands will not only transform the retail environment of Bahrain but also establish a benchmark for the regional market.'

Leasing interest in the property has already been significant, with lease offers for almost 70 per cent of the new centre already, and a target opening date set for early 2007.

Majid Al Futtaim Group of Companies has changed the face of shopping, entertainment and leisure in the Middle East, driven by the vision of its founder and chairman, Majid Al Futtaim.

Established in 1992, the Group has rapidly become a business of international significance.

Credited with successfully bringing the concepts of the mega mall and the hypermarket to the region, the Group started from its Dubai base and is now operating six successful shopping centres in the Arab world with plans in place to take its pioneering concepts into other major cities in the Middle East, including Bahrain.

Just to point out that this development is probably around 3 times seef mall after it's undergoing expansion (the mall itself i mean).

Oh ya DL, can you change the title to u/c now as work has started.

good news today!
looks nice from what we can see in the render

and 2 towers, perfect
any info on these? so we can add them to emporis

^ as far as am concerned, they're the two hotels. I have no idea about them, should be around 100m, but for now I know nothing. A better render could give us an idea about floor counts but until they release one, am clueless.

This mall be second largest after mall of the emirates in the gulf, until the later dubai malls are built.

A better rendering:
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/source/xxvii/340/images/lpic07.jpg

This is how the BD150 million Bahrain City Centre shopping and leisure resort will look.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held yesterday for the project, in the Seef District, which will be the largest shopping complex in Bahrain and the second largest in the Gulf.

The 1.5 million square feet mall will house the Middle East's largest, 20-screen cinema (run by Cineco) and more than 350 shops.

It will also feature a 54,000 sq ft family entertainment centre and two hotels, with a combined total of 700 rooms.

The resort will also be home to the largest indoor water park in the Middle East.

The target opening date is 2007.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/source/xxvii/340/images/Lpic3.jpg

A GROUND-BREAKING ceremony was held yesterday for the BD150 million Bahrain City Centre shopping and leisure complex, in the Seef District. It will be the largest shopping complex in Bahrain and the second largest in the Gulf.

The 1.5 million sq ft mall will house the Middle East's largest, 20-screen cinema (run by Cineco) and more than 350 shops.

It will also feature a 54,000 sq ft family entertainment centre, called Magic Planet, and two hotels with a combined total of 700 rooms - which will directly link to the mall itself.

The resort will also be home to the largest indoor water park in the Middle East, covering 135,000 sq ft and providing a temperature controlled aquatic experience to visitors all year round.

It is being built by UAE-based regional property developer Majid Al Futtaim Investments and will be larger than the City Centre mall in Deira, Dubai.

However, it will be smaller than the three billion UAE dirham (BD308m) Mall of the Emirates, also in Dubai which will be ready in September.

The ground-breaking ceremony was held under the patronage of Crown Prince and BDF Commander-in-Chief Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and attended by Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.

Leasing interest has already been significant, with lease offers for almost 70 per cent of the new centre and a target opening date set for early 2007.

The project will include 10 anchor stores and negotiations are already underway with two major international department stores.

Other facilities will include 30 international restaurants and Bahrain's first Carréfour hypermarket, which will span 172,000 sq ft.

There will be 6,000 covered car parking spaces.

The Seef District was selected for a variety of reasons, despite other malls in the area, said Majid Al Futtaim Investments property development group vice-president Jeffery Rossely.

"It depended on the land that was available and our three-year-study showed that this was the best area because it's a good area which attracts a large portion of the population," he said.

Mr Rossely said that traffic shouldn't be a problem because there would be five different approaches to the mall, which should prevent bottlenecks.

Expansion

"The roads network in the area is also being worked on which should help ease traffic flow," he said.

Majid Al Futtaim Investments chief executive officer Peter Walichnowski said Bahrain was a very exciting market and a natural progression for the regional expansion of the City Centre brand name.

I think it looks awesome, much better than Dubai's City Center and Burjuman.

A render from the inside !!!!!!

Very very modern 3floors configuration.. bahraini spirit you should see this


http://pdf.alayam.com/Archive/PDF/February_2005/23-2-2005/Page52.pdf

^ Thanks, looks nice, hopefully we'll get better renders. Am sure it'll look much nicer when it's done. Here is the pic in that pdf file:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/p5146b335a31eea4ded610c923e84cd0b/f50750dd.jpg

This mall be second largest after mall of the emirates in the gulf, until the later dubai malls are built.



So does this means its gonna be bigger than city centre doha? I heard they are planning further expand to remain the largest mall in the region. But anyway this is great news for bahrain. Am excited to see the what the country will be like in 2007 as many projects are due to finish about this time. :)

^ As far as am concerned, only the mall of the emirates will be larger than this until other malls are ready in dubai. I'll doubt that the doha mall will be remain to be the largest given all the projects goin on in dubai.

Hmm.. we may never know! but thought dubai is having a building booom... thought the population and activities arent reallly concerned by the construction i would hardly believe all those malls will be full, because up until now! almost 70% of the buildings are empty... the bahrein city center will be full many will open there but for the dubai malls not all of them are full... :S

^ c with dubai, they'll have sooo many large malls that ya they might look empty but am sure when they first open them, it'll be packed. The deira city center is always packed when i used to go as it's probably the only place that's used to hang out, or used to be.

Now what so great with having the largest !! there are many other factors that make a place a success or else. Mercato is not like one of those big malls, but its very close to my heart for its stylish looks and brands available. Burjumans new expansion to be hounest, Is much better than city Centre dubai..

I think Bahrain city centre is about the right size, never been to doha's city C.C mall, but can assure that many key success factors would be the verdict.

You are right moody, being the biggest does not necessarily mean being the best. Im hopin bahrain city centre will be the new "seef mall''....by that I mean a mall that people can enjoy doing EVERYTHING under one roof. I mean look at the other malls in bahrain...The only reason people go to bahrain mall is for Geant, Dana Mall for the cinema or takin out the kids, A'li mall for Bendaira Cafe (hahaa :) ), the list goes on but if your bahraini youll get my point.....Anyway this mall should hopefully be on a higher or equal level as the seef mall in terms of popularity.

Although I must say Im not too impressed with that particular interior render. Although the skylit roof will look amazing!, the ground floor looks bare, needs a bit more vibe to it, maybe a few palmtrees or fountains!!! But hey its still early stages and anything could happen. yalla i got to get some shut eye for its already 2:30 am...later.. :runaway:

^ Welcome first of all. Apparently, I think that render is a very bad one, am sure it'll be much better. My dad says it's fantastic cause am sure he saw some more details in tv or newspapers, dunno. Am sure they won't spend that amount of money on nothing. This might actually beat "Seef Mall", most likely it will, but you never know, it's Bahrain.

MAF Investments set to build City Centre in Bahrain


Majid Al Futtaim Investments has carried out the ground breaking ceremony for what is being billed as Bahrain’s first leisure and shopping resort community. During the ceremony, the UAE-based firm unveiled a model of its successful ‘City Centre’ shopping, entertainment and leisure brand to Bahrain. The main contractor for the three-level shopping centre will be finalised by May.

The ground breaking ceremony for the island’s biggest retail complex in Manama was attended by Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance, and the Governor of Manama, plus other dignitaries. The final plans were unveiled and the architectural model was shown for the development. The gross built-up area is about
450 000 m2 and gross leaseable area will be 140 000 m2.

The main facilities include (according to the developer) the Middle East’s largest 20-screen Cineco Cinema, along with more than 350 stores and a 5400 m2 family entertainment centre. The complex will also house two hotels with a total of 700 hotel rooms. MAF Investments plans to build the largest temperature-controlled indoor water park in the Middle East, covering 13 500 m2 within the resort.

“Bahrain is a very exciting market and a natural progression for the regional expansion of the ‘City Centre’ brand name,” said Peter Walichnowski, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Investments. “Like all of our malls, Bahrain City Centre will have several ‘firsts’ for the region, both in terms of its sheer size and scope, as well as its offering of a fully integrated shopping and leisure destination,” he said.

Leasing interest in the property has already been significant, with lease offers for almost 70% of the new centre already. The target opening date has been set for early 2007.

Repeated Article,,,

Ground works started couple of days ago, excavation and so on .

Good, so that when I get back, maybe I can see somethin.

Sounds great. It seems like they're trying to outdo each mall at what they're best at...All the good things about each of the malls under one roof....I mean 'Magic Planet', lol..Competing with magic island in seef....and the hypermarket, taking away the only reason ppl go to Bahrain mall....and 20 Cenimas, wow, largest multiplex or cineplex or whatever u call it....Although people will still probably go to Dana mall, cuz their cenima's are run by a different company, soo mostly different movies to offer....

I'm curious though, where is this mall being built exactly, says near the seef area, but where ?? is it behind seef and al aali, past al moayyed tower, somewhere adjacent to the Ritz, along the water front?? I'm not in Bahrain at the moment, and i haven't been there for a few months now, and the last time i was back i didn't see any signs of construction anywhere, soo i have no idea where this mall is....

As far as am concerned, it's not far from the pearl roundabout, say your comin from King Faisal Highway goin to Seef, you go on the flyover and on the way down, they reclaimed the land till the pearl roundabout from Seef, it should be on your right at the beginning of that reclaimed land.

Am not in Bahrain too, haven't been there for months, where are you studyin at the moment patriot?

Oh, so like sort of opposite to Dana Mall...on the other side of the highway...Good peace of land....

I go to AUB..this is my first year actually (and possibly my last if the situation here doesn't get any better :ohno: )...You're in the UK right? which university?

Oh, so like sort of opposite to Dana Mall...on the other side of the highway...Good peace of land....

I go to AUB..this is my first year actually (and possibly my last if the situation here doesn't get any better :ohno: )...You're in the UK right? which university?

Ya I feel sorry for you guys in Lebanon, I know a few ppl there and am not sure if they're stayin there.

As for me, am in my 3rd and final year in the University of Exeter. I got a full schoalrship here and the uni is one of the best places in the UK for my course, it's a pretty good uni. In October inshalla I'll start my Masters in Imperial College, University of London, so that'll be a huge step up for me. It's goin to be really tough as Imperial is 3rd behind Cambridge and Oxford and one of the best in the world (top 15 or 20, somethin like that,should go very nicely on the CV) so wish me luck.

Did you think of a contingency plan i.e. where you might go if you transfer from AUB?

Wow, full scholarship...don't tell me ur one of the recipients of the crown prince scholarship :uh:

Sounds good, seems like u got it all planned out...good luck with that...

I like how you're going on to doing your masters right away...Thats what i hopefully plan to do, don't want to work with a Bachelor's degree alone, even if its temporary or work experience for my Masters...I'd rather just go on straight...Bachelor degrees are redundant nowadays...

I don't really have a contingency plan...well i might...I'm sort of sick of Lebanon already, and i really miss Bahrain, something i never thought i'd say!! I think studying abroad, and being away from home are what sparked my previously nonexistent or dormant sense of patriotism...!!! So i'm thinking i might study in Bahrain for a semester or two...I'm thinking of doing a summer course in Bahrain at the very least...The thing is my dad is the president of one of the private universities in Bahrain (Ahlia University) -which has a good rep. as one of the better and serious private universities, as most of them are somehwhat of a joke- so i sort of have that to fall back on, and during the summer, if things don't completely normalize here in Beirut, i'll be deciding then on what i'm going to do...Like one thing i might be able to do once i start in Ahlia is eventually transfer to Brunel since they're affiliated with them..The UK has always been my first choice, i personally prefer their system...And if that doesn't work out, since the British system and American system are as u know, for the most part, incompatible, theres always Canada i guess...who knows

I don't expect that the situation here will get any worse, infact i believe it'll only get better and normalize soon enough...The recent explosions were failed attempts to create unrest and cause fear among the people...Hopefully there won't be anymore of those, especially once a new more favorable government is established...

Guys,

CityCentre mall is the first thing you see when you slowly pass over the flyover

Soo it's as i understand to the right, ater passing the 1st pearl round-about flyover going towards seef and the 2nd flyover, right ? in the reclaimed land before the turning for al Aali and the ritz..?

Say your comin from the King Faisal Highway and goin to seef, you'll be on the flyover, once your nearly down (end of flyover), it will be on your right at the beginning of the seef extension reclaimed land.

Found some pic for you,, have a nice time !

http://www.capital.gov.bh/images/projects/citycenter01.jpg

http://www.capital.gov.bh/images/projects/citycenter02.jpg

http://www.capital.gov.bh/images/projects/citycenter03.jpg

A better quality of the only availbale pic of the CityCentre

but we don't have any info on the towers?
at least i couldn't find any in the articles

Am sure the mall will look much better. Ya, I'll doubt we'll get info on the towers (only thing is that they are 2 hotels with 700 rooms), maybe someone could email the developers.

I hope this mall isn't like Al Rashid, in Saudi, huge, yet very boring and dull..
I guess the cenimas and the hypermarket will give it the life that al Rashid lacks...
Or maybe the mere fact that its in Bahrain...Saudi is just sooo spacious, even the roads are soo wide, but its very boring and impersonal...

This will be much better than Al Rashid with all due respect to it. The fact that it's in Bahrain gives it a boost along with the fact that it has two hotels, a waterpark, largest cineplex in the mideast (20 cinemas), hypermarket, and 350 shops and so forth will make this a great mall imo.

Not to forget the cool ppl of Bahrain who will fill this on week ends:)

Well depends, some are freaks and only go there for 5ubrek ;).

It's looking good.

I hate GEANT, and can't wait for CARREFOUR to come to Bahrain.

Hehe, Carrefour should bring fierce competition to Geant. This mall I believe will be a huge success and could just take away Seef Mall's glory i.e. Bahrain's number 1 mall, unless the tradition continues hehe.

It will take comeptition far away from both seef and Bahrain mall, don't forget the mature management team behind this State of the art mall needs to fill all 350 shops and creat a waiting list if needed !

I've heard that since there is a great demand already on this mall even when it was on paper, they're startin to plan an expansion of it. Hopefully that's true cause that will only be better for the market in terms of competitiveness and to bring in more names, brands and more entertainment to Bahrain.

I want this one ready,,

I don't know why they are so so slow although its 24/7 ?

When will construction start and when will the mall be completed?

YA it's 24/7 and they started construction a few months ago and should be completed in 2007, they're doin the ground works and it should pick up from there.

Original schedule was for 16 DEC 2006 ( Bahrain's National Day, and Day of King's Accession to throne)

However, later they talked about Jan 2007 for opeing the Mega Mall

Dec 16, 2006 is a bit far fetched, for a mall of this size, you'd need more than a year n a hal, but nothin is impossible as the F1 circuit proved.

According to Al Ayam (please check today's PDF - Economy section) ohh its in arabic..

They say 30 Shops were rented to Azzali Group, who will bring new shops to Bahrain including:

Virgin Mega Store
Zara Home
Promod

and also some of known names already in seef

Zara
Massimo Dutti
Pull and Bear

Really...?? I'm soo confused now...!! Promod is already here, in Bahrain Mall...And Virgin Megastores, i don't think its Azzali Group, or the Group that brought Zara, Promod, Massimo Dutti, and Pull & Bear y3nii....

Its about time we got a Virgin Megastores though...And if we do get one, i hope its big and grand like most Virgin Megastores in other countries are...The one in Beirut is great...Its in a huge building, which i believe used to be an Opera house...Its perfect..

Virgin Megastores in Bahrain is great news!

Yes, and i'd be even more happy if they (Virgin) fly to Bahrain !

They might fly to Bahrain soon because they have recently started a new flight to Dubai.

Oh really? cool, Gulf Air has started a relation with them recently, who knows maybe!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid184/p31057b46157c45f2a87e5bc83add6edf/f28d22d7.jpg

Latest... this project has been assigned to Nass-Murray & Roberts for construction who are building BWTC. the project will be up and running by 2008.
The current contractor who's doing the pilling work is 3 months late.
This is what i have been told by the project manager in Murray and Roberts.

Latest... this project has been assigned to Nass-Murray & Roberts for construction who are building BWTC. the project will be up and running by 2008.
The current contractor who's doing the pilling work is 3 months late.
This is what i have been told by the project manager in Murray and Roberts.

That's not good, I guess this contractor ain't gettin more big projects if he's this inefficient. And 2008, I thought in 2007 it'll open? Why the delay this much, just because of this contractor?

Damn, 2008...!! Guess its gonna be a while, sorta like Dana Mall...It took a really long time, even though its nothing special...To tell u the truth Dana Mall was a real let down...I don't think the city centre will be a let down though...But lets just keep our fingers crossed...

this will be one huge mall

is it true that there is a wait list for letting a shop in city center ??

is it true that there is a wait list for letting a shop in city center ??


From what I heard, it was fully let while it was still on paper and I think that they are planning an expansion. Again, don't take this as an official statement but that's what I heard.

2008???

Huh, seef expansion started after City Centre, and now they are building the second floor !

guys the project is huge it's not only mall, there are 2 towers, water park, and car park building.

maybe 2008 is completetion of the full project including towers and waterpark.

:cheers:

Welcome Back Skyline-BRN....It's been a while, ay?

Where were u all this time...?

maybe 2008 is completetion of the full project including towers and waterpark.

:cheers:

Hi back,

I think what you said is right, they might run the mall in 2007 if this is the case, as they promised.

guys the project is huge it's not only mall, there are 2 towers, water park, and car park building.

They are so slow, I wish all contractors were as 1/2 as fast Al-hamad is!

Guys, just for clarification Murry and Roberts is one of 11 contractors who are bidding for city center and not as i mentioned before they had the contract already. Al Futaim will decide soon who will get the contract and as i heared they want the fastest.

Good,

By the way, work has never stopped in the project, its going on but slow!

Carrefour is well known for opening VERY FAST whenever they are being built in UAE.

Al-Futtaim has a very good track record, and hopefully it will be the same in Bahrain.

I agree, Al futaim's presence in Bahrain is considered very successful..

WHere is this location ?
Any map showing the location ?

Thanks

Here is a map, this mall is between pearl roundabout and dana mall (somewhere in the middle where the sea is shown in this map). Hope this helps :).


http://www.newarabia.net/Images/manamamap.jpg

It's soooo close to my apartment.

Can't wait until it's opened. :)

You'll be the one to post us overview pics then ;).

Question to you guys,

Do you think this mall is big enough? about right size or small?

I'm not sure...How does it compare, lets say to Seef, or Dana Mall...!?
(The area is given in feet i think, and its not clear if it includes the water park or what, whereas seef, dana, and the others are given in square metres, so i don't know)

I think it should be bigger though...I mean i'd just like to see at least one mall here thats as big, or at least sorta comparable in size to some of the new malls they have in Dubai...Just one!! Not too much to ask...

I'm sure though that its big enough for a country like Bahrain...

Okay, if you put it with Dana Mal,, hum about 3 times bigger in land area.

but square design is boring, just look at bahrain mall. i mean ibn batota and seef have a single line unlike this one, i'm kinda dissappointed with the delay and now this.

Well they said this one should be 1.5 million sq. ft and to compare it to one of the malls in dubai (city center is 1.2 million sq. ft and mall of emirates is 2.4 million sq. ft) so this one is big.

Is Mall of the Emirates bigger than Ibn Battuta!?

Ya it's supposedly the largest mall outside of north america.

Look at posts 30, and 47...The first says the entertainment centre, magic planet, is 54000 sq ft...The second says its 5400 sq. m.....Samething about the water park...One says 135000 sq ft, and the other 13500 sq m...I don't think the difference between sq ft and sq m is 10, just an extra zero...Help me out here, i'm confused....

1 sq ft = .0929 sq m which is which means 135000 sq feet = 12,541.9 sq m

Well anyways, still, even if we assume those figures are actually in sq ft, Ibn Battuta which is supposed to be smaller than mall of the emirates is "spread across 5.4 million square feet." The total built up area is 3,500,000 sq ft., whereas i think the total built up area of the Bahrain city centre is 450,000 sq ft...The total leasable area in Ibn Battuta is supposed to be 3.4 million sq ft, whereas the total leasable area in our BCC is (besides 135,000 water park, 54,000 magic planet, 172,000 carrefour, and the cenimas) 140,000 sq ft or 0.14 million sq ft...With the stuff in the brackets i guess about 525,000 sq ft, or 0.525 million sq ft...

IBN Battuta has 21 cenima screens, BCC has 20, although more seats, so i guess we're still the largest in the sense on the no. of seats...

So the figures u gave, B-Spirit, are wrong, at least i think the Mall of the Emirates one is...They give a very wrong impression as to the size of the mall, and how it compares to the Dubai ones...

kool map.

Well the figures I gave are the ones I read from reports released by MAF, so if they published wrong figures, then no one knows how big they should be. They said that this mall will be huge but not as big as Mall of the Emirates. I'll try and find an article later about this.

Remember also that the largest cinema is considered by number of seats and not number of screens. I can have for ex. a cinema with 50 screens but only a total capacity of 1000 people while another cinema has 10 screens with a capacity for 2000. The 10 screen one is considered bigger.

I still think this mall is not big enough, good one but, not possibly that last one in Bahrain... so there could be a bigger one in the future, and better looking cuz this one is not that good from the outside.

any picture updates on this one??? when is the shcduled completion date?

Its still a pile of sand and cement...no more comments..

Its still a pile of sand and cement...no more comments..

Wha? What the hell has this contractor been doin on site. This one probably won't even fiinish by early 2007 as planned or was it late 2006. Well take it from me, this contractor will be screwed in future deals.

so its been since May 2005.. humm about 6 months for the foundation only,

They are taking their sweet time..

I mean it's either this mall is goin to be the bomb for it's foundations to be this complex and take this long. Or, our lovely contractor is just takin it easy peasy.

Wow really nice mall good for Bahrain :)

Glad that Aljazeera offers 10kd tickets to Bahrain ;)

Hi, same here we can visit kuwait for BHD 13, which is about 10.1 KWD !

http://gulf-daily-news.com/source/xxviii/263/images/Lpic3.jpg

THE BD200 million Bahrain City Centre, being built in Seef, will create 3,000 jobs, half of them for Bahrainis, it was revealed yesterday.

The project, which will house the biggest shopping mall in Bahrain and the Saudi Eastern Province, is scheduled to open by late 2007, said UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim Investments general manager Maher AlShaer.

It will create more than 5,000 jobs during the construction phase, he told the GDN.

The cost of the project, which was originally estimated at BD150m, is now expected to go up to BD200m, said Mr AlShaer.

Bahrain Foundation Construction Company (BFCC) is carrying out the BD4.3 million piling work for the project, the largest foundation work in the history of Bahrain.

The piling work is due to be completed next month.

The complex will house the Middle East's biggest water park and a 20-screen movie theatre, the biggest in the Gulf.

"We are proud to be associated with the integrated shopping mall project, which will also be the largest in Bahrain when completed," said BFCC chairman Abdul Hussain Dawani.

"The contract is for the provision of more than 4,000 bored piles."

Mr AlShaer and Majid Al Futtaim general manager-project management Paul Gill reviewed the progress of the piling work yesterday with Mr Dawani and BFCC project director K G Babu Rajan.

The piling work is being carried out for a total project footprint area of 126,000 square metres, said general manager of Al Hoty Analytical Services Babu Rajan.

Al Hoty has done the soil testing for the project using state-of-the-art technology.

Largest

Meanwhile, Mr AlShaer said the project was the largest of its kind in Bahrain and was scheduled to open by the end of 2007.

It will include a huge retail mall, two integrated hotels, a water park, a large multi-storey car park and a 20-screen multiplex cinema managed by Cineco Bahrain.

"Carrefour Hypermarket will be taking the largest of the retail tenancies in the development with the mall itself containing a unique blend of local and international retail stores and food and drink outlets, many of which will be totally new to Bahrain," said Mr AlShaer.

"The project will be the single largest tourist attraction in Bahrain," he said.

"It will create more than 5,000 jobs during the construction period and over 3,000 permanent jobs on completion of the project."

Mr Gill said the main contractor for the project would be appointed within a month.

"We have shortlisted two Bahraini companies, which have set up joint ventures with international firms," he revealed.

"The project will also provide jobs for about 300 Bahraini subcontractors."

The total built up area of the project will be 450,000 square metres. This includes three levels of retail with a basement, a seven-storey car park - which can take up to 5,500 cars - and two 14 to 15-storey hotels, one of them five-star and the other four-star.

Mr AlShaer said the combined indoor and outdoor water park would be the biggest of its kind in the Middle East.

"The shopping mall will be the biggest in Bahrain and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and 70 per cent of the retail space has already been leased out," he said.

well late 2007...it was early 2007 be4 so we lost about a year but hey atleast its not cancelld or anything

I suppose this guy has an excuse to be late a bit, 4000 piles, dang that's a lot. But ya it sucks that it's delayed by like a year. Yalla.

I suppose this guy has an excuse to be late a bit, 4000 piles, dang that's a lot. But ya it sucks that it's delayed by like a year. Yalla.

You're right B.S.
As I previously mentioned, the pilling work is late 3 months and the project will be ready by 2008 (which he is trying to make it looks sooner by saying late 2007)

I saw an ugly pic of the mall and towers, a new release, i will try to find it and post it here...

here 's the link to the pdf with picture
http://www.akhbar-alkhaleej.com/source/thursday/1.pdf

oh nooo it looks like theyve changed the design and shortened towers aswell!!! :bash:

ya good point..it looked futuristic in the other render!! damn this looks like diplomat...

You can't judge from this render though, looks different ya, but the price went up by BD 50 million, so there must be a major change somewhere in there.

I imagine the height of the hotel towers will be around the same height as Mercure next to al Aali...Which isn't tall...Inshalla it'll be taller though....

Actually i hate seeing towers rising from a mall, better if built away... or one tower hosting both hotels, which would be taller !

first signs of construction.
http://static.flickr.com/35/73512923_70c9e4d65b_o.jpg

work on the roads leading to City Centre.
http://static.flickr.com/34/73512926_7862d4b63c_o.jpg

Well construction should be fast from now on, so in a few months, we should atleast see somethin over those hoardings.

Skyline is lookin great now. Poor NBB, no more the dominant force in downtown hehe.

Poor NBB, no more the dominant force in downtown hehe.

that goes for their building and bank.. :D

***edit***

rough sketch of interior...

i think it looks quite trendy especially with the roof and the wide space....btw look at the background carefully and you will see a nice tower :D

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/7663/ccbah9zn.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

That tower is one of the hotels. Looks nice and simple which is great. Nothing tacky.

This project is dead... no progress is noted, site is like a grave yeard.. piles of sand endless piles of sand,,

Yeah, i don't understand this lack of progress..!

OK this Project has officially started to annoy me! Im thinking about contacting Al-Futtaim about this! Has anyone heard of any updates for this, maybe some of the new forumers have any info?

I have sent email after email to al-futtaim but i have got noo reply!

Work is very slow specially Cybarco took over the construction work.

Cybarco are very slow :(

well, it is not going slow! there were some changes in the plan. Initially the amount of investment was 450m jumped to 900m. Heard they want to add skiing place inside like what alfutain has in Dubai but manucipility didn't agree. there are currently negociations about some additions. this will make infrastructure delays accordingly. Up-to-date information about the plan can be taken from a guy called "Khalid Al-Sha3er" he is the PR for alfuttain in Bahrain. he is friend of my youngest brother. brother told me so!

Manucipility did not agree for skining, why do you know? What a bunch of Dick Heads.

Manucipility! how stupid people

I think they're starting to get serious... There's something going on... More pillars and steel bars coming up in the middle of the construction site...

I was checking out an architecht website and came across these renders of city centre. You have seen them before but they are more detailed..From Woods Baggot (http://www.woodsbagot.com.au/Projects.asp?OID=105&SP=WB_Project_Display&SP2=WB_Project_ImagesList&Start=0&Lang=EN) :

http://www.woodsbagot.com.au/images/Projects/I355.jpg
http://www.woodsbagot.com.au/images/Projects/I356.jpg
http://www.woodsbagot.com.au/images/Projects/I357.jpg

I have sent MAF several emails asking them about the status of this project and i finally got a reply: As Leasing Manager for Bahrain I have received a copy of your email addressed via the MAF Corporate Web site

I confirm that Bahrain City Centre is currently under construction and expected to complete in 2008

Please let me know what information you require in order that I can take your enquiry further

Thank you
Steve Lalic
Leasing Manager

let's first ask him if any expansions are planned/approved

2-when in 2008? beg...end,,,mid?

3-already leased area in %....etc

Also the towers would be interesting, height and so on...

Sent them an email detailing all of the info needed..i even told them to join the forum :)

.i even told them to join the forum :)

Consumer feedback should always be valued by companies :)

I got a quick reply today, this guy is great. He said they have completed piling work and started main construction. The number of rooms in both hotels = 550. He even gave me a render. More information will be coming, such as height of the building etc.

http://i4.tinypic.com/10p3bih.jpg

Now I'd have to say, that actually looks much better than before. This contact of yours seems very handy indeed.

Keep up the good work :).

ya Good Work Natural Bahraini!! I have to say the general desingn of the mall exterior looks good....But I have to be honest I find the tower desing of the previous renders much better!!

Ye i agree with you skyline..but they are both new designs, its hard to choose..i wonder what that blue structure is on the left is..I wonder if its a skiing place

i think the blue structure is the water park

I got a quick reply today, this guy is great. He said they have completed piling work and started main construction. The number of rooms in both hotels = 550. He even gave me a render. More information will be coming, such as height of the building etc.

http://i4.tinypic.com/10p3bih.jpg

great job natural bahraini, finally someone responding to inquiries. if you do contact him another time ask about possible plans for
high-rise residential towers in the close proximity to the centre.

and about the design well after just watching the presentation of lulu island i think this design will fit perfectly with the modern
style of lulu next door.

http://i3.tinypic.com/116o1g4.jpg

http://i3.tinypic.com/116o1ao.jpg

Ha finally they started. This looks like one of the hotels being constructed.

Thanks for the pics :).

Ha finally they started. This looks like one of the hotels being constructed.

Thanks for the pics :).

From the render i don't think this is the hotels location. i think they are facing Dana Mall.

So are the hotels going to be on the Highway side... ? For some reason i have a feeling they'll be on the other side, away from the sheikh Khalifa Highway...

Also, going by the render, the Blue thing doesn't look tall enough to be a ski dome.. If it is, which is highly unlikely, it'll have really crappy short slopes...

You should ask the guy about the possibility of having a ski-dome... and if the rumours about it are true... and if they considered it at all..!

Yes ski dome will be great and I think it will be feasable in Bahrain with all the expats here ,and gulf nationals coming on the weekend

Elmahri, from the render, am assuming that the hotels are facing the current highway. And about that blue structure, I think it's the aqua park, the largest indoor aqua park in the region (they claim it'll be). I haven't heard of any plans for the ski slope but I've been told that they're already drawing out an expansion for the mall since they received great responses for this one, so let's wait and see.

Maybe the guy that natural contacted can clarify more.

finally...great to see those pics pearl. :)

The mall will contain a large indoor water park with wave pool and such ammenities.

Yes ski dome will be great and I think it will be feasable in Bahrain with all the expats here ,and gulf nationals coming on the weekend

theres already a bigger ski dome in dubai

Largest mall on way

MANAMA: MAF Investments- Bahrain, owners and operators of the upcoming Bahrain City Centre, officially awarded the BD128 million main contract for the BD200 million project to Cebarco-WCT.

The agreement, signed by MAF Shopping Malls chief executive officer Graham Dreverman and Cebarco-WCT chairman Khalid A Rahim, now paves the way for construction to begin on the project, which will be the largest mall in Bahrain and the second largest in the Gulf.

Opening in the second quarter of 2008, Bahrain City Centre will be the first integrated leisure and shopping destination in Bahrain.

Located in the Seef District, the 150,000-square-metre shopping complex will offer over 360 stores, which will appeal to a wide range of shoppers and visitors.

These will include two multi-level international department stores, the largest indoor water park in the region, a 5,600sqm Magic Planet in-door amusement park and the largest cinema in the Middle East, with 20-screens.

Over 40 restaurants and food outlets, offering cuisine from all over the world, will mean that there will be no shortage of choice for visitors.

The centre will also incorporate two international hotels with a total of 550 rooms with a combined offering of five-star and four-star amenities.

"Bahrainis, residents and visitors will enjoy a unique shopping and leisure experience each time they visit the mall," said MAF Bahrain general manager Maher Al Shaer.

"With a wide variety of outlets, Bahrain City Centre will have something for everyone, young and old.

"Whether they are shopping for the latest high quality products, dining out or if they are just looking for a good time, the centre will have it all."

"We are confident that Cebarco-WCT is an ideal partner for such a major project, which will improve the standard of living in the country and provide many jobs for Bahrainis.

Cebarco-WCT chairman Mr Rahim said the firm had proven itself capable of meeting and surpassing international standards of construction as demonstrated by the success of the Bahrain F1 circuit.

"We now commit ourselves to MAF Investments- Bahrain and to their team to deliver a truly world class project.

"This project will be an icon for Bahrain and will boost tourism to the country."

the current progress of this project is impressive

when will the mall complete?

December 2007

Noo, 2nd quarter of 2008 according to the article!

why is it pushed back alot now???

Bahrain City Centre Factsheet

Location
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain

Ownership
Owned by Majid Al Futtaim Investments

Management
Majid al Futtaim Investments

Mr Jeff Rossely, Group Vice President, Development
Mr Graham Dreverman, Group Vice President, Asset Management
Mr Mike Wouldham, Group Vice President, Project Management
Mr Maher Al Shaer, General Manager, Bahrain City Centre
Mr Shahram Shamsaee, Vice President, Leasing
Mr Steven Lalic, Leasing Manager
Ms Pam Bryson, Regional Marketing Manager
Ms Sabra Thani, Corporate Communications Manager, MAF
Positioning

First entertainment, shopping and leisure resort in Bahrain
Biggest shopping centre in Bahrain
Biggest indoor water park in the Middle East
Biggest cinema complex in Bahrain
First Carrefour Hypermarket in Bahrain
Wide selection of international and local bands
Exclusive fashion brands
A must see destination for both residents and tourists
Layout and Architecture

3-level centre
‘Mixed-used’ regional shopping centre
Contemporary design with traditional elements/quality finishes
Opening
Fall 2007

Gross Built-up Area
450,000 square metres (4.8 million square feet)

Gross Leasable Area
140,000 square metres (1.5 million square feet)

Parking
6,000 parking spaces (6 levels of parking leading directly into the mall)

Retail

Over 350 stores
16,000 square metre (172,000 square feet) Carrefour Hypermarket, the largest in Bahrain
20 screen Cineco Cinema totalling 8,000 square metres (86,000 square feet)
45,000 square metres (480,000 square feet) of 10 major anchor stores (to be announced shortly)
Leisure

Family entertainment centre for children and young adults, Magic Planet, totalling 5,000 square metres (54,000 square feet)
Biggest indoor water park in the region, totalling 12,500 square metres (135,000 square feet)
Dining

30 food outlets and restaurants, offering international cuisine
Hotels

2 hotels (a 4-star and a 5-star)
700 rooms combined
Construction

Groundbreaking ceremony – February 22, 2005
On target to open in fall 2007
Contractors

Main contract will be awarded in June 2005

What's the point of an indoor water park?

There should be sun.

Ye i agree with you there..but i guess they just wanna be different and new..i mean Dubai has an indoor ski slope so i guess its just for attention.

http://static.flickr.com/109/261565162_3f61db8e81_o.jpg

Posted: Thursday, October 05, 2006

http://www.tradearabia.com/source/2006-10/05/kemp.jpg

Kempinski Hotels has signed a management deal with the MAF Hospitality (MAFH) for a new five-star luxury hotel at Bahrain City Centre development. The hotel will be MAFH’s second in the region.

This agreement follows the successful opening of the Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates earlier this year, the first joint venture between the luxury hotel group Kempinski and the MAF Hospitality group.

The hotel will open during 2008.

The Bahrain City Centre development in the Seef district of Manama city includes two hotels, the five-star luxury Kempinski hotel and a second, four-star hotel, Bahrain’s largest shopping mall covering 150,000 sq m, a Carrefour hypermarket and some 40 restaurants and cafés.

The highlights are a massive indoor air-conditioned Water Recreation Park which will be the largest in the region and one of the world’s largest once completed,a 20-screen cinema and a Magic Planet family entertainment park. The Kempinski hotel will have 196 luxuriously appointed rooms and suites plus a city spa, fitness centre and restaurants.

Ulrich Eckhardt, senior vice president Middle East & Africa, said he was very pleased with the latest addition to Kempinski’s portfolio in his region. ‘Kempinski continues to focus its expansion in the Middle East region as the market potential here is huge. Our brand is enjoying success in the region and we are renowned for our commitment to superior service and quality standards. Bahrain’s economy is one of the fastest growing in the Gulf and its excellent infrastructure make the country an attractive choice for the many multinational companies who have set up operations there.”

http://www.tradearabia.com/tanews/newsdetails_snTTN_article112434_cnt.html

edit, site keeps getting stuck.

edit

more pics from today. :)

http://static.flickr.com/89/261702297_8152fb6859_o.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/119/261702284_00b281606d_o.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/119/261702279_ebedc65d34_o.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/98/261702289_2fb8930028_o.jpg

The hotel will be named Kempinski ! like the one in the mall of the Emirates

Nice pics man, keep it up :). And ya, Kempinski will be a great addition.

Taken a couple of days ago...

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/9761/bccuw5.jpg

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/6519/bcchotelnm3.jpg

i cant believe the amount of cranes....!
i like the progress on this one

Btw, i noticed they made a road behind the City centre... Passing by Elite, i think from the seef citibank traffic light... I haven't been, but i'm guessing its a nice little 2 lane both ways road...

3 lane :)

nice

yes this road will be going direct to Muharraq passing by BFH, and Bahrain Bay in the future

The skyline above Seef District is a maze of cranes heralding the rise of a BD250 million ($663 million) multi-faceted development, which will boast the first integrated entertainment and leisure complex in Bahrain and also feature the country’s largest shopping mall laced by towering hotels and a state-of-the-art water park.

A total of 14 tower cranes – the largest number of cranes on a single project in Bahrain – dominate the horizon at the Bahrain City Centre site, according to a spokesman for Cebarco-WCT, the main contractor. The project also hosts the first luffing crane to be used in the country.
The contractor has been working at a feverish pitch on the various aspects of the complex under a BD128 million ($339 million) main contract.
As the project was still on the look-out for a main contractor at this time last year, it probably comes as a surprise that the UAE-based property developer Majid Al Futtaim Investments has targeted to have the entire development completed by mid-2008.

Cebarco-WCT started mobilising for the fast-track project last March and is expected to complete the complex, which involves a built-up area of around 500,000 sq m, within a construction period of 28 months.
“We currently have a total of around 2,500 workers on site, working on extended shifts on some aspects of the project. Work is progressing on schedule and we expect to complete the superstructure of all the buildings by the third quarter of 2007,” he adds.
Cebarco-WCT has subcontracted the BD40 million ($106 million) electromechanical contract to India’s Voltas, a Tata Group company, and expects to award further subcontracts over the course of this year.
With this mega development, Majid Al Futtaim Investments is introducing the highly successful City Centre shopping, entertainment and leisure brand to Bahrain. The project involves the construction of a three-level mixed-use regional shopping and leisure centre, which will house over 350 stores in total, offering the best in fashion and entertainment choices.
Offering a gross leasable area of 150,000 sq m, the centre will have a contemporary design with traditional elements and high-quality finishes and will feature a string of “firsts” and the “biggests” for Bahrain including:

• First entertainment, shopping and leisure resort in Bahrain;
• Biggest shopping centre in Bahrain;
• Biggest indoor/outdoor water park in the Middle East;
• Biggest cinema complex in the region; and
• First Carrefour hypermarket in Bahrain, covering 16,600 sq m.

The centre will devote almost 25,000 sq m of space to entertainment and leisure facilities which is around 17 per cent of its gross leasable area. It will house the biggest indoor/outdoor water park in the region spread over an area of 12,000 sq m, a 20-screen Cineco Cinema covering 8,000 sq m and Magic Planet, a family entertainment centre for children and young adults and a 10-pin bowling centre over an area of 5,600 sq m.

The facility will also have two hotels – one four-star and the other five-star – with 550 rooms in total that will be directly linked to the mall. The five-star hotel will be operated by the Kempinski luxury hotel chain of Germany, while the four-star hotel will be under the City Centre’s own brand but will be managed by Kempinski.
The complex will feature a massive seven-level car-parking area with a capacity for 5,500 vehicles, leading directly into the mall. Mohamed Salahuddin Consulting Engineering Bureau (MSCEB) is undertaking the architectural detail design on the car-park as well as the four-star hotel building.

http://www.gulfconstructionworldwide.com/Articles.asp?Article=8291

i figured the new deadline must be summer 2008... I just really hope there won't be any delays... And hopefully the beginning of the summer... :)

The hotels look like they'll be short though, not so towering.. lol

taken from abraj lulu 10 JAN

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/177/364596191_0f1a68da2d_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/171/364596184_f0228fa77a_o.jpg

what!? i thought there were many cranes, but by the look from above, there are little.

what!? i thought there were many cranes, but by the look from above, there are little.

A total of 14 tower cranes

how many more do you want? lol

This is a red shot by dr_know:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/156/410271448_786bbd25b7_o.jpg

By yonis (inside the site):

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/148/421345961_f975a5dec5_b.jpg

from abraj al lulu update 10 MAR 2007

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/178/424327436_6d4591682a_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/156/424327437_4f0afd6bef_o.jpg

i took these yesterday :



http://www4.0zz0.com/2007/03/23/10/62004100.jpg




http://www4.0zz0.com/2007/03/23/10/39113373.jpg



http://www4.0zz0.com/2007/03/23/10/42918628.jpg




http://www4.0zz0.com/2007/03/23/10/24225779.jpg





.

Construction is booming.

I can't wait until it's open. I live a short walk away. :D

Pic by sinthrex:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/179/433641207_d7ff9544f3_o.jpg

Very blurry pic by <ange>:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/153/436793143_1c6f66c5e2_b.jpg

Yesterday

http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/3782/dsc01517editedfy4.jpg

This is the flyover road they are constructing, which leads directly to the Mall..

The multi-storie i'm sure... Its the same as what they do in Dubai, with the Mall of the Emirates for instance.. Its better for traffic...

http://img469.imageshack.us/img469/2523/dsc01518editedcs4.jpg

Nice ones B patriot. Here is another one by ange:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/160/438791198_2bef78617f_b.jpg

More by ange:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/200/440875404_edeea465ee_b.jpg

Already posted this pic (by duraz) in the construction pics thread. I assume, the fenced area to the right of the city center is the new city center twin project??? If so, I was expecting them to take a bigger piece of land.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/181/443629345_da256be653_o.jpg

Already posted this pic (by duraz) in the construction pics thread. I assume, the fenced area to the right of the city center is the new city center twin project??? If so, I was expecting them to take a bigger piece of land.



man lulu island is huge. if they could make more supertalls on that then it would be great. i suppose this pic was taken from BFH tower, right?

man lulu island is huge. if they could make more supertalls on that then it would be great. i suppose this pic was taken from BFH tower, right?

Yes, I posted the other pics in the construction thread.

Also by ange, can see parts of the new skyline in the background:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/445960303_ef252c136a_b.jpg

Awesome shot by robert gebhard. This one has come a long way.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/182/465417101_956ca16b63_b.jpg

Bahrain City Centre announces outlets almost fully leased

Enthusiasm for the upcoming Bahrain City Centre has been so great that over 96 per cent of its outlets have already been leased out more than a year before its scheduled opening date.

leisure destination, which is sure to be a landmark development for Bahrain when it opens in the second quarter of next year, will have almost 330 retail units, spread out over a total leaseable area of 150,000-square-metres. A total of 317 units have been taken up since marketing efforts began two years ago, with tenants ranging from the world's most recognizable brands to popular local retailers, catering to all tastes and budgets.

'The retailing industry recognized that the Bahrain City Centre, with its spacious, yet contemporary and visitor friendly design, is bound to be a tremendous hit with locals, expatriates and visitors to the Kingdom,' said Maher Al Shaer, Vice President - Asset Management and Business development, MAF Investments - Bahrain. 'In addition to being the largest shopping centre in Bahrain, Bahrain City Centre will also have the largest concentration of food and beverage outlets with 54 units serving cuisines from all over the world. Bahrain's first Carrefour Hypermarket will be a main attraction as will the Virgin Megastore, which will carry a huge range of entertainment products,' he said.

The multi use destination will also feature the largest cinema complex in the Middle East, with 20 screens, and the biggest indoor/outdoor water park, important additions to Bahrain's leisure scene.

'We have attracted retailers at the cutting edge of fashion, jewelry and homeware products, including many top international brands,' said Al Shaer. 'What is unique about Bahrain City Centre is that it will cater to all income brackets. Luxury fashion brands such as SAKS 5th Avenue, Ferragamo, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Rolex and Roberto Cavalli will exist alongside other popular brand names, such as Kiabi and Max Fashion, which will target shoppers who want the latest fashion trends at great prices.'

'These different markets will be seamlessly integrated at the Bahrain City Centre, which will be managed to the highest international standards. About 55% of the retailers will be completely new to Bahrain, raising the Kingdom's profile as one of the most attractive retail and leisure destinations in the Middle East,' he added.

Other major destinations at Bahrain City Centre will include retailers like Debenhams, Centrepoint, Home Centre, Paris Gallery, Zara, H&M, Mango and Massimo Dutti. Bahrain City Centre will also include two hotels, a four-star and a five-star, offering a combined 550 rooms.

A family entertainment centre, Magic Planet and a 10-pin bowling centre totaling 5,600 square meters will be another main anchor destination. More than 5,500 parking spaces will be available to accommodate the huge number of visitors the landmark project is expected to attract.

I saw someone with a camera near the Ahli Bank and Citibank buildings in Seef taking pictures of the City Center construction.

Hopefully we'll see those pics online.

Took these yesterday evening, the sandstorm kind of messed up the shots...

http://i18.tinypic.com/4kxqzci.jpg

http://i16.tinypic.com/4yozrch.jpg

http://i19.tinypic.com/4r7u6qa.jpg

http://i7.tinypic.com/6aqz4ur.jpg

Thanks for the pics dr_know.

This pic by haerlodus is just awesome:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1138/527344815_b6ab8928ab_o.jpg

Looking at the pic City Center does not look so big to me.

its so big to me

.

Bahrain is really BOOMING!:eek:

By Coop 24 :


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1064/539308447_daaeec3f1f_o.jpg



..

By Blahchi :


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1426/674918822_b6d0d935fe_b.jpg



..

hey ppl, what is the cost of living in bahrain....bahranian ppl are very kind and well spoken i hear , back in india, ....i'll be coming somewhere in mid aug 2007...so just wanted to know some where abouts....ne ways....whats d cost of living in Manama with a room-mate in a 1 BHK apartment with basic amenities( electricity + water taxes including)...which is the next closest city to manama....what is d Bus/taxi fares ??? plz some1 answer these questions, will b v v helpful 4 me .....( i think i will b wrking on THE MALL ,in bahrain,,,,,yesss the bahrain city centre mall project....HOPEFULLY)..well then u ppl will get a first hand pics from me, dnt wry ....plz help me out !!!! ty

i took these 2/9/2007 :


http://www.up07.com/up5/uploads/0eecb19c01.jpg



http://www.up07.com/up5/uploads/79afda1475.jpg



:)

Bahrain City Centre



By REYADH HUSSEIN

MANAMA: The Bahrain City Centre (BCC) will complete all structural work by next month and is due to open in 261 days. Majid Al Futtaim Group (MAF) said the project has seen over 10 million man hours of work and is set to become Bahrain's premier entertainment, shopping and leisure resort.

"It houses not only the biggest indoor/outdoor water park in the Middle East but also the largest cinema complex in the region," MAF Investments deputy chairman Maher A Aziz Al Shaer told the GDN.

"Bahrain City Centre will target the largest market sector in Bahrain as it contains a mix for luxury seekers to price driven customers and for those looking for entertainment to normal everyday grocery shoppers," Mr Al Shaer said.

The three-level centre will occupy a total built up area of 450,000sqm with a gross leasable area of 150,000sqm.

This will break down into approximately 11 per cent for the Carrefour hypermarket, 30pc for major anchor retail stores, 16.6pc for the leisure area which includes a bowling alley, cinema and water park, 6.4pc for 54 food outlets and restaurants, and the remaining 36pc for smaller retail outlets.

"The BCC aims to be the city centre of Bahrain and a main destination not only for Bahrain residents but for GCC neighbours," Mr Al Shaer said.

The BCC will also house a traditional suq offering traditional Arabic goods. The four corners of the BCC will also be themed separately in the motifs of sky, sand, earth and water.

More than 97pc of tenants have completed and signed contracts and more than 55pc of the stores housed at the BCC will be entirely new in Bahrain, Mr Al Shaer said.

Fit outs are expected to begin by the end of the year and new stores to Bahrain include Ferragamo, Burberry, Roberto Cavalli, Max Fashion, Centrepoint, Paris Gallery, H&M, and Virgin Mega Store.

Other stores will include Ralph Lauren, Rolex, Kiabi, Debenhams, Home Centre, Zara, Mango, and Massimo Dutti.

At least 4,000 jobs are expected to be created, with at least 50pc of its workforce Bahraini.

"This project will have an impact on Bahrain's economy and create jobs in cleaning, security and maintenance sectors," Mr Al Shaer said.

I dont understand why the same shops keep up opening, the only good thing in that list is VMS. its about time some new stuff starts opening up.

They don't want to lose market share?

diversify...business 101

i took these today :


http://www.up07.com/up6/uploads/26379e9a16.jpg


http://www.up07.com/up6/uploads/cc07c8a0a0.jpg


http://www.up07.com/up6/uploads/e91144c743.jpg


http://www.up07.com/up6/uploads/b4129346c2.jpg


http://www.up07.com/up6/uploads/49bac10b00.jpg

Great work Bahrain on your City Center btw are those towers 2 seperate hotels or 1 ??? cheers from Qatar :D

cuz the City Center Doha has 5 hotels with 5 towers with 200 rooms each 3 on one side and 2 on the other i think it will cause a major impact on the mall as the visitors will increase !!!! alot !!! :D

Great work Bahrain on your City Center btw are those towers 2 seperate hotels or 1 ??? cheers from Qatar :D

cuz the City Center Doha has 5 hotels with 5 towers with 200 rooms each 3 on one side and 2 on the other i think it will cause a major impact on the mall as the visitors will increase !!!! alot !!! :D

Wow 5 hotels in a mall, I think that is too much :nuts:. By the way Bahrain City Centre is the second biggest in the Gulf after Emirate Mall, but it will soon be the third biggest from what I hear about the proposed Mega Mall in the Emirates.

yeah Dubai mall the largest in the world !!!!!!!!!!

yes and whats funny is that the hotels are

Marriott
Shangri-La
Merweb (Local)
Rotana1
Rotana2

Crazy hotels :D

btw no one answerd my question about the 2 hotels in bahrain city center !!

yeah Dubai mall the largest in the world !!!!!!!!!!

yes and whats funny is that the hotels are

Marriott
Shangri-La
Merweb (Local)
Rotana1
Rotana2

Crazy hotels :D

btw no one answerd my question about the 2 hotels in bahrain city center !!

Kempinski is a 5 star, and the other will be 4 star but we still don't know which chain

sounds nice kempinski is a great hotel :D why would there be a 4 star ? the ones in doha city center are all 5 star !

well i'm guessing because there is a demand for affordable hotels espically for tourists from europe.

Bahrain's city centre is owned by MAF and qatar's is not.

I dont like the idea of the two hotel either, one would look ok but two!! separated by mall main gate. its just too much on such a small mall ! okay whatever....

i'm looking forward to the launch next year

Bahrain's city centre is owned by MAF and qatar's is not.

I dont like the idea of the two hotel either, one would look ok but two!! separated by mall main gate. its just too much on such a small mall ! okay whatever....

i'm looking forward to the launch next year

City is not small it's the second biggest in the Middle East.

well not for long. all eyes will be on dubai.

Great work Bahrain on your City Center btw are those towers 2 seperate hotels or 1 ??? cheers from Qatar :D

cuz the City Center Doha has 5 hotels with 5 towers with 200 rooms each 3 on one side and 2 on the other i think it will cause a major impact on the mall as the visitors will increase !!!! alot !!! :D

I think Doha City centre sould have been named the Doha Hotels Centre, with a mall attached :lol:

well not for long. all eyes will be on dubai.

Still it would be the 3rd largest in the Gulf, and the largest if you exclude Dubai. still not bad.

I heard Kuwait will build a big mall soon though.

By the way, I don't know if you know this, but they are already planning an extension for the uncompleted city center. It will have two towers and maybe a ski slope. :banana:

i took these pictures from Elite Grande Hotel today... enjoy them
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o209/elmahri/IMG00020.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o209/elmahri/IMG00019.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o209/elmahri/IMG00018.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o209/elmahri/IMG00017.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o209/elmahri/IMG00016.jpg

very cool, nice job! btw I think I read a while back that they might be connecting the city centre with al dana mall, can anyone confirm this?

very cool, nice job! btw I think I read a while back that they might be connecting the city centre with al dana mall, can anyone confirm this?

Nope, that will not happen. They are working on a flyover which will take the traffic heading west from City Centre to the Diplomatic Area and Muharraq heading east over Khalifa Bin Salman Highway. Al Futaim will foot the bill for this flyover.

Notice in the last pic the two empty plots facing each other across the road heading to Seef just after the traffic light. This is where the Bahrain Business Park is U/C.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=487942

By the way, I don't know if you know this, but they are already planning an extension for the uncompleted city center. It will have two towers and maybe a ski slope. :banana:

I heard something similar, not sure about the ski slope but towers I did hear about. There were rumours going around even when the project didn't break ground.

well not for long. all eyes will be on dubai.

Doesn't matter mate, it was never going to be the biggest but as long as it's great and innovative, size isn't that important.

We want a ski dome, damn it!

ski slope or ski dome ????? make up your mind !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lolz