Chamber building contract award soon
Posted: Friday, May 06, 2005
Manama
The main contractor for the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) headquarters is to be appointed within a week, it was revealed yesterday.
The piling work for the BD8.5 million complex in Sanabis is nearing completion, said BCCI president Khalid Kanoo.
He was speaking after officially signing the BD160,000 piling contract with international geotechnical contractors, Keller Grundbau.
The signing ceremony at the BCCI premises in Manama was attended by BCCI board members, design consultant and supervisor Aref Sadeq and project co-ordinator and client representative Dheya Towfiqi.
"We are negotiating for the main contract, which we hope to finalise within a week," said Kanoo. "The new headquarters is expected to be completed by late next year."
The main piling work, involving 452 piles, has already been completed in 54 days, said Keller branch manager Imtiaz Syed.
"As soon as the main contractor is appointed, we shall start trimming the piles and this work will be completed within a month," he added.
The foundation stone for the new headquarters was laid in January this year by Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, in the presence of Crown Prince and BDF Commander-in-Chief Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
The 20-storey building will include a reception, a library and business centre, majlis, an exhibition hall, a main hall, administrative offices, lecture halls, a training centre, a cafeteria, a health club for businessmen and 14 floors to be rented as office space.
Preliminary work on the building began late last year, with the government providing BD5 million.
Kanoo said the new headquarters would help the 65-year old chamber to better serve Bahrain's business community.