MAJOR PROGRESS AT DURRAT AL BAHRAIN

Durrat Al Bahrain, Bahrain’s largest planned luxury mixed-use residential, commercial and resort development, today announced major progress across key elements of the $4 billion project, including its golf precinct, the Ernie Els designed 18 hole championship course community; its 400 berth marina as well as the Crescent, the mixed-use commercial district of Durrat Al Bahrain. With progress well under way on the residential villas located across eleven of Durrat Al Bahrain’s islands, focus is now moving to these significant elements of the development.

Golf Course
The preliminary master plan for the golf course has now been completed, which envisions an Ernie Els designed 18 hole golf course, a club house and 1400 beautifully designed villas and apartments set against the green of the course and the azure blue of the surrounding sea and landscaped lakes and canal. US consultants EDSA have been brought in to proceed with a detailed master plan and to advise upon the urban design vision of the golf community, with the aim of creating clusters of residential housing which will offer different types of lifestyle options. These clusters will then be marketed to developers with completion scheduled from the end of 2009. Durrat Al Bahrain’s golf course community will also see a 200 room 6 star hotel situated in 3.6 hectares, as well as a club house with a health facility that will offer sports halls, gyms, well-being facilities and retail outlets that will be available for the whole of the Durrat Al Bahrain community. The combination of an Ernie Els designed golf course and the beautiful environment of the course and its surrounding villas, apartments and hotel will make Durrat Al Bahrain one of the region’s leading golf destinations.

Commercial District
Development Controller Plans which define the heights, facades and appearance of buildings will be completed by the end of the month, marking a significant step in the development of the urban planning of the Crescent, the mixed-use commercial centre of Durrat Al Bahrain. The Crescent will see a combination of commercial, retail and residential property, planned around waterfronts, open spaces and lakes where between 30,000 and 35,000 will live and work. Buildings will be limited to 50 stories other than a number of specific iconic towers, which will signify the beauty and modernity of Durrat Al Bahrain through their architecture and grandure. The Crescent’s retail mall, situated by the central lake and promenades is planned to be approximately 80,000m² in area.

Marina
Arranged over three islands, Durrat Al Bahrain’s 700,000m² marina has also seen significant progress in its development. With the conceptual master plan approved, work is now underway to create the detailed master plan, due for delivery in the first half of 2008. Durrat Al Bahrain’s marina will offer berths for 400 berths, its own yacht club and will be a mainly residential area of the community, offering 85% residential housing and 15% commercial property. Linked to the mainland by a bridge from the golf course community, the marina will offer residents modern waterfront residences, looking out onto the southern Bahrain sea.

Jassim Al-Jowder, Durrat Al Bahrain’s CEO, said, “With both phases of the residential villas well underway, we are now bringing additional focus to the other important elements of Durrat Al Bahrain: our commercial district, our golf community and our marina. These areas of the development offer significant potential for developers and investors as we create a new island based community, which is already successfully attracting residential investors from the region and internationally.”