The first of four infrastructure development phases, which will include the 125 hectare island's highways, bridges, landscaping, power, water, sewerage, drainage and telecommunications supplies has been offered to 30 contractors.
The winning firm will be appointed by the end of the first quarter of 2012 and work is due to start in the second quarter. Construction is expected to take 24 months to complete, enabling subcontractors to begin work in parallel.
‘End users can be handed the keys to their units by the middle of 2014,’ said developer Ithmaar Development Company (IDC) in a statement. It will be comprised of a mix of residential, leisure and commercial sub-developments, surrounding core health and wellness facilities.
The company says that Dilmunia is more than just a high quality real estate development because it will also be adding value through the health and wellness infrastructure it will bring to the Kingdom.
Dilmunia is aiming to tap into the $100 billion global healthcare market and is expected to provide housing for approximately 15,000 residents, thousands of whom will work in the project’s medical, well being, hospitality and retail sectors.
‘In many cases it will be introducing entirely new industries, which people in Bahrain previously had to travel abroad for,’ said Mohammed Khalil Alsayed, chief executive officer of IDC.
Preliminary development, including dredging, reclamation and rock protection works, have already been completed on the artificial island, located off the northeast coast of Muharraq. Later phases of the infrastructure work will also include completion of the Grand Canal.
‘The 2.2 kilometre Grand Canal is important to highlight because it will be one of Dilmunia's key features, offering patients, residents and visitors a unique and atmospheric recreational amenity. It will be another first for Bahrain,’ Alsayed added.
