Reclamation works will start in November, after two months.

The new city will have its own railways and boat transfers.

http://www.almeethaq.net/liveweb/default.asp?action=article&ID=53718&strDate=

Total cost estamated at BHD 1 billion, USD 2.65 billion

Edit

بتاريخ: 25 08، 2005
أعلن مسئولو وزارة الأشغال والإسكان فى مملكة البحرين اقتراب البدء في تنفيذ مدينة سكنية جديدة كان قد تم وضع حجر أساسها فى مطلع العام 2002، إذ توقع المسئولون بدء العمل فى المشروع خلال الأسابيع القليلة المقبلة.
وتوقع وكيل الوزارة محمد خليل السيد أن تبدأ أعمال الدفن الخاصة بالمشروع خلال نوفمبر المقبل بمجرد إرساء مناقصة المشروع مشيرا إلى أنه تم الاتفاق مع شركة هولندية لبدء أعمال الحفر متوقعا الانتهاء من المشروع مطلع 2015.
وقال أنه بمجرد الانتهاء من استكمال البنية الأساسية للمشروع في مرحلتيه الأولى والثانية سيبدأ توزيع الوحدات السكنية متوقعا أن يبدأ ذلك أواخر 2008.
ووصف محمد خليل السيد هذا المشروع بأنه "أهم مشروع استراتيجي إسكاني في مملكة البحرين في هذه المرحلة، مؤكدا أن المشروع بعد استكماله سيغطي معظم الاحتياجات السكانية للمواطنين البحرينيين.
وتتكون المدينة المقترحة من 19 جزيرة مرتبطة بجسور في مرحلتها النهائية ويتوقع إنشاء 10 جزر ردمية في المرحلتين الأولى والثانية إذ ستشمل المرحلة الأولى إنشاء ثلاثة عشر ألف وحدة سكنية تليها خمسة آلاف وحدة سكنية في المرحلة الثانية.
ويكلف إنشاء الجزر في هذه المرحلة حوالي 68 مليون دينار بينما تبلغ كلفة حماية الجزر وتشييد السواتر والمراسي حوالي 33 مليون دينار وتبلغ كلفة البنية التحتية حوالي 321 مليون دينار فيما تبلغ كلفة الوحدات السكنية في المرحلة الأولى حوالي 350 مليون دينار.
وتغطي الجزر مساحة إجمالية تقدر بـ 1067 هكتارا إجماليا ما يقارب 18 ألف وحدة سكنية تتسع إلى تسعين ألف نسمة إذ تغطي المرحلة الأولى والثانية من المشروع مساحة تغطي 700 هكتار تقريبا فيما تشمل المرحلة الثالثة الامتدادات المستقبلية وتغطي حوالي 367 هكتارا، وتشمل المرحلة الأولى 3 ضواح سكنية تضمن حوالي ثلاثة عشر ألف وحدة سكنية.
وتم التخطيط للمدينة على أساس أن تكون مدينة متكاملة بجميع خدماتها الإدارية والتجارية والاقتصادية لإيجاد بنية اقتصادية واجتماعية تخدم أهالي المنطقة، إذ تحوي الخدمات الأساسية جامعة ومستشفى عام وسوقا مركزي ومرفأ بحري ومتحفا مائي وعلمي ونادي رياضي ومراكز للصناعات التقنية.

A BD66.4 million ($176 million) contract was awarded yesterday for the first and second phases of dredging and reclamation work for Bahrain's new Northern Town, which will include more than 15,000 homes.

The agreement was signed between Works and Housing Minister Fahmi Al Jowder and Boskalis Westminster Middle East director Kyriakos Vanakas.

The first two phases of the project, which will incorporate 10 reclaimed islands between them, is expected to help ease housing problems in the Northern Governorate.

The first residents are expected to move into the town in 2007 or 2008.

The first phase of reclamation, which will be completed in 12 months, consists of two main islands with a combined area of 290 hectares.

The second phase, which will take another eight months, will include eight more islands with a combined area of 209 hectares.

There is also a proposed third phase - which would include an additional 4,000-plus homes - that could be built at a later stage.

Al Jowder said that infrastructure and construction work would begin on the islands as soon as they are ready. "We will not be waiting for all the islands to be completed before we start building," he said.

"This is a unique and massive project, which we hope will help reduce pressure on housing."

The project will include a hospital, a university, schools, green areas, shopping areas and other facilities.

Housing and Management Under-Secretary Mohammed Khalil Alsayed said the project's reclamation work would take environmental matters into consideration.

He said that although there are new laws prohibiting reclamation, they do not cover projects considered important to the development of the country and have high environmental standards.

Alsayed said that a study is underway to find potential sites for three more proposed towns to be used for more government housing.

link (http://www.tradearabia.com/tanews/newsdetails_snCONS_article94137_cnt.html)

Man as good as this project is, it's huge and there will be so much land reclaimed, there goes the sea.

I’m afraid worse is coming; I have a reliable friend that said he was plans by the government for a new project on the horizon. He said it’s almost twenty times bigger than BFH, (after phase three) its also going to be located in the sea in front of the Harbour. It is suppose to be a combination of commercial and residential projects. I hope we hear soon about it when and if it’s confirmed.

I’m afraid worse is coming; I have a reliable friend that said he was plans by the government for a new project on the horizon. He said it’s almost twenty times bigger than BFH, (after phase three) its also going to be located in the sea in front of the Harbour. It is suppose to be a combination of commercial and residential projects. I hope we hear soon about it when and if it’s confirmed.

They don't learn :no:. This better be a great project, 20 times the size of BFH, crazy, they lost their mind.

NEW routes have been drawn up for a controversial highway after the original plan was scrapped because it cut through a new housing development. A final decision is still to be taken on the route of the highway, which will lead to the BD1 billion Northern Town.

However, under the new proposals, no houses will have to be demolished, Northern Municipal Council chairman Sayed Majeed Al Sayed told the GDN yesterday.

He said that some private land would have to be taken for the project, but added that the owners would be compensated.

"No house will be affected or touched unlike the previous route, which brought an uproar from residents who just built their homes in its path," he said.

"I can't say there will be no damage, but minimising it is the only thing we can do.

"Buying private lands is far better than bulldozing homes."

The original plans for the highway were announced last month - sparking an outcry from residents whose homes lay directly in its path.

It would have sliced through the new Saraya 2 residential area, resulting in the demolition of up to 200 homes and other buildings.

If it went ahead, it would have also meant the demolition of the BD3m St Christopher's Junior School, Saar, which only opened in September.

However, Mr Al Sayed said the new routes bypass homes altogether and had been drawn up in consultation with an independent company.

He has submitted the proposed new paths for the highway to the Works and Housing Ministry this week, as well as the Northern Municipality.

Designs for the routes are now being put together and will be submitted to the council for discussion, followed by the Housing and Urban Development Committee, which Mr Al Sayed is a member of.

"We hope the new designs will be ready soon and submitted to the council and later the committee for a final route to be approved and the proposed route scrapped," he said.

However, once the new route is agreed on, he said anyone who has been granted a licence to build in its path would have the licence revoked. "The ministry will buy their land according to a list prepared by the council, detailing plots and their value," said Mr Al Sayed. "Building licences are currently suspended and new ones are not being issued for houses or buildings in the area."

I’m afraid worse is coming; I have a reliable friend that said he was plans by the government for a new project on the horizon. He said it’s almost twenty times bigger than BFH, (after phase three) its also going to be located in the sea in front of the Harbour. It is suppose to be a combination of commercial and residential projects. I hope we hear soon about it when and if it’s confirmed.

Bahraini Spirit here it is the first sign of the project I was talking about .

Title: Manama Landmark Waterfront Development Project

Description: Project Summary: Arcapita, the renamed First Islamic Investment Bank in Bahrain is setting up a landmark waterfront development project in northeast Manama with an estimated investment of more than US$1000 million. The project will involve the reclamation of more than 400,000 square metres of land opposite the diplomatic area and next to the Shaikh Isa bin Salman causeway. The scheme will include high-end waterfront residential developments with apartments, condominiums and penthouses as well as marinas, restaurants and a number of public areas and promenades. The two anchor developments will be a Four Seasons hotel and the new Arcapita headquarters.The development has been designed by the US Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM). Turner International, also of the US, is the project manager. Tender for main construction package will be issued to local contractors only.Project Value: US$ 1000 million.Status: The tender for the main construction package will be issued towards the end of 2005. Construction is expected to take about two years. Project Completion Date: 2 years from start date of the project.

Location: Bahrain
TI Ref ID: 687334
Document Type: Project Information
Estimated Project Cost: USD 1000000000 ( 1000.00 Million )

here is the link to the site..

link (http://www.tendersinfo.com/viewdata/view_sum.php?ti_id=687334)

and here is the link to all the Bahraini projects..

link (http://www.tendersinfo.com/viewdata/search_tender_new.php?q=&region_name%5B%5D=BH&global=1&keywords=+&segment=&t=&sort=doc_last&view=&ref=1&per_page=50)

but i guess i was wrong about the size, only 400,000 m2. While BFH is 380,000 m2

Thanks, I've seen this one months ago, the design is great, now I hope they're not lyin when they say construction by end of the year, we know what happens sometimes.

Btw, dude you're mixin up with this and the northern city, cause northern city is like 20 times BFH not this one ;).

Bahraini Spirit here it is the first sign of the project I was talking about .

Title: Manama Landmark Waterfront Development Project

Description: Project Summary: Arcapita, the renamed First Islamic Investment Bank in Bahrain is setting up a landmark waterfront development project in northeast Manama with an estimated investment of more than US$1000 million. The project will involve the reclamation of more than 400,000 square metres of land opposite the diplomatic area and next to the Shaikh Isa bin Salman causeway. The scheme will include high-end waterfront residential developments with apartments, condominiums and penthouses as well as marinas, restaurants and a number of public areas and promenades. The two anchor developments will be a Four Seasons hotel and the new Arcapita headquarters.The development has been designed by the US Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM). Turner International, also of the US, is the project manager. Tender for main construction package will be issued to local contractors only.Project Value: US$ 1000 million.Status: The tender for the main construction package will be issued towards the end of 2005. Construction is expected to take about two years. Project Completion Date: 2 years from start date of the project.

Location: Bahrain
TI Ref ID: 687334
Document Type: Project Information
Estimated Project Cost: USD 1000000000 ( 1000.00 Million )
this should goes under Four Seasons' thread

anybody have pix on the site?

Dutch dredging group Koninklijke Boskalis Westminster NV said its 50-50 joint venture with compatriot Van Oord had won a 150-million-euro ($178-million) land reclamation contract for 10 islands in Bahrain.

Boskalis, the world's largest dredger, said the work under the contract would be carried out over 24 months.

The project, called "North Bahrain New Town", is a large-scale plan aimed at reducing pressure on housing in the northern part of Bahrain, the company said in a statement.

"This project in Bahrain is one of a series of large scale land reclamation projects on the global market for maritime infrastructure," Boskalis said in a statement.

"This market is driven by long term factors, such as world population growth, growth of the world economy and the international trading volume as well as developments on the energy markets," it added.

The company earlier this month raised its year profit forecast and said orders for 2005 would double from last year's 1.2 billion euros.

The dredging group last month won a contract worth $1 billion over 36 months to help build a liquefied natural gas harbour in Qatar.-Reuters

link (http://www.tradearabia.com/tanews/newsdetails_snCONS_article98217.html)

This will be much bigger than BFH, no point in buildin it if it's goin to be of the same size.

That's a fair sum for reclaiming land. As good as this city might sound, am not keen on this whole reclamation business not that it would make a difference now as most of the fisheries are destroyed.

OMG, Now it decides to re-appear...Here's the damned thread...i swear it wasn't there before..!

Hehehe...This thread needs to be tied to a leash!

BD1.5bn Northern Town takes shape
By REBECCA TORR


RECLAMATION work costing more than BD66 million has begun on the Northern Town development, on the north-western coast of Bahrain.

The work, which began last month, is due to be completed by early 2008, but construction will start by next year, said Housing and Urban Development Committee secretary general Mamoon Almoayyed.

The committee has also entered the final design stages for infrastructure, housing, commercial buildings, waterfront, landscape and other aspects of the project, off Abu Sobh.

The entire town when fully developed is expected to cost between $4 billion and $5bn (BD1.512bn to BD1.89bn).

The 1,000-hectare plus town comprises two sections, but work on only the biggest one will be implemented now.

The main section, comprising 10 islands, will provide 13,000 to 15,000 houses for between 65,000 to 100,000 people.

"We are working in parallel with the reclamation work," Mr Almoayyed told the GDN.

"People think we are late, but we are not. To design a town takes time, it's not an easy task. We are constructing a town for the benefit of the whole population.

"We wish to finish in eight to 10 years, but it is difficult to know when it will be finished exactly, because it depends on the participation of private investors.

"Hamad Town took 20 years and had no private sector participation - we believe we can achieve this by 2016 to 2017."

The town, which is at least five times the size of Seef District, will include various facilities including a regional hospital, a university, health centres, schools, daily and weekly mosques, shopping malls, hotels, libraries, post offices, petrol stations and other features.

"There will be one major hospital which will serve the town and the north region, so it will be a regional hospital, but how it will be managed, or support Salmaniya Medical Complex, is the decision of the Health Ministry," said Mr Almoayyed.

Features

"The hospital is a core, it's a must for the region and will attract employees.

"The university will cover the Gulf region and attract students from around the world.

"We are trying to create an economic base, so the university will be a research centre.

"We would like a university that can compliment an industrial park and hospital."

The town will also include a Civic Plaza which will house the Municipality Governorate, Municipal Council and Grand Mosque.

Another feature is a Biotech Park, which will house 'clean' industries that are likely to serve the needs of the hospital and university.

The new town is being built in such a way that all buildings will be orientated to face Mecca.

Mr Almoayyed said there would be three lagoons, two on the main section of the town and another on the smaller part.

The ceremonial lagoon will overlook the downtown island and will be an ideal place for National Day and Eid celebrations, as well as sporting events.

The second is a lagoon located by the Grand Mosque.

"There will also be a sewage treatment plant, but you won't be able to see it from the outside because it will be covered by landscaping," said Mr Almoayyed.

"Water and power supply will be brought from the main island, but it will have a water reservoir site and distribution stations for water and electricity supply."

Mr Almoayyed said the town would have Bahraini handicraft centres for pottery and textiles, to make use of the wealth of skills of people currently living in the northern villages.

To ease congestion, he said, there would be a monorail system for mass rapid transit and light rapid transit, as well as water taxis.

There are three routes from the Northern Town to Manama, one goes to either the Seef District, or to Manama (the exact location is to be decided), and the other two lead onto the Budaiya Highway.

Three bridges will connect the roads.

Public beaches and water activities will be in abundance in the new development, said Mr Almoayyed.

"Each island, except downtown and the university campus, has beach access and facilities," he said.

"There are also plans for key walls, or piers which go into the water.

"We are trying to create more opportunities on the waterfront than we have now.

"The major highways are imbedded in the centre of the town to make it easier for people to access the beaches.

"There will be promenades for people to walk, but also car accessibility."

Mr Almoayyed said the main aim of the new town was to meet the growing need for public housing, but said the population would also include expatriates working in the area.

The reclamation work is a joint venture between Netherlands-based companies Boskalis Westminster and Van Oord.

Mr Almoayyed has been speaking about the new development to the business community and most recently gave talks to the Bahrain Society of Engineers and the Rotary Club of Adliya.

Great, its happening ! I'm imagining the train as well which will take to manama staright!