The theme park has been envisaged as a “miniature Disneyland.”

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Bahrain’s Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Minister Dr Juma Al Ka’abi has signed a deal to develop a $53m (BHD 20m) theme park in Bahrain, described as a “miniature Disneyland.”

The agreement was inked with Bahraini investor Fouad Shuwaitar who is set to fund the project alongside Indian group Golden Globe Trading and Consultancy.

Dr Al Ka’abi said authorities had been ordered to fast-track the project by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalia after Muharraq Municpal Council, the local authority responsible for overseeing the park’s development, gave it the go-ahead.

Although reluctant to give the project the go-ahead after Shuwaitar’s initial plans to invest alongside a group of GCC partners fell through, Muharraq Municipal Council decided last week that the project had sufficient financial backing once Golden Globe Trading and Consultancy confirmed its partnership with the Bahraini investor.

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The signing comes just four months after the council had completely scrapped plans for the project at Muharraq Grand Garden, near Bahrain International Airport, after two years of delays caused by funding issues with other investors.

Shuwaitar, who will lease the land for 30 years, told the GDN that fencing work would begin at the site next week, but work would not start in full until February.

“The park has been abandoned since 2007, when a Kuwaiti investor’s plan for a “miniature Disneyland” was scrapped due to his inability to carry out work,” he told Gulf Daily News.

“Since then, councillors have been looking for other investors and thus we decided to step in with a bigger and better project.

“We are planning to fence the place next week and start work on the new mosque by the end of the year before we begin actual work in February as we make arrangements with our construction partners,” he added.

The current plans for the 93,618m² park include an indoor sports arena, outdoor pitches, aquatic museum, karting track, mosque and an elderly home and is expected to be ready in around two and a half years.

It will also feature restaurants, a fitness club and gym, family rest areas and amusement rides, a three-storey shopping centre, business centre and multipurpose convention and exhibition centre.

Golden Globe president Mohammad Zaman said this was his first project in Bahrain, but will not be the last.

“We have plans for new residential projects with other Bahraini partners, which are also worth millions, but our focus now is on the success of the park project,” he said.

“The costs may increase from the current BHD 20m ($53m) depending on further additions that we may feel are necessary in line with people’s demands and needs.”

Council vice-chairman Ali Al Muqla said signing the agreement was a relief for everyone.

“The Bahraini investor is sincere and wanted to go ahead with the project for a very long time, but councillors gave him a rough ride because they didn’t believe he had the required funding,” he said.

“We demanded the investor to cancel his plans for a hotel and furnished apartments and replace them with something else after residents in the area protested.

“That dropped the original spending from BHD 24m ($63.7m) to BHD20m, which required a new feasibility study, which in turn delayed the investor paying the deposit and signing the agreement, but things have changed since and a U-turn was necessary.”

Syrconsult International Bahrain is the consulting engineer.

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