Bahraini government stops mall project in Isa Town
Ministry is considering several options to resolve dispute, including exchanging the plot
Bahrain’s Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Ministry has cancelled a project to build a new shopping mall in Isa Town, following a row between the Central Municipal Council and the parliament.
A private investor was earlier given the green light to build a mall on land valued at $21.36m, but legislators demanded it be turned into a public park to serve residents.
“We have been put in a difficult situation and that’s finding a balance between the demands of the council and parliament in regard to this plot of land that everyone wants to see developed,” Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Minister Dr Juma Al Ka’abi told the Gulf Daily News.
“At first, I halted the project temporarily to study their cases and determine what’s the right approach to be taken,” the minister said.
“Now, I have decided that the mall project can’t go ahead because the place is residential and can’t take any more traffic or parking problems, besides the plot is the only available land for us to carry out any municipal project,” added Al Ka’abi.
The ministry is considering several options to resolve the matter including exchanging the plot with another elsewhere in Isa Town with the same value, or oblige the investor to do a project that is like Adhari theme park, which is a mixture of family recreation and business, he said.
