CONSIDERABLE headway has been made on Durrat Al Bahrain, the kingdom’s largest luxury residential, commercial and tourism resort, which is taking shape as an island city over 21 sq km near the southern tip of Bahrain.

“We’ve made a lot of progress this year and are now in the finishing stages of the first two phases of our island-based luxury villas. We will be handing these over to some of the first owners shortly,” says Jassim Al Jowder, CEO of Durrat Al Bahrain. “We have also made progress on the other elements of the project including the Ernie Els 18-hole golf course precinct, as well as the creation of the non-profit business, Durrat Resort Management, which has been set up to help build the future community of Durrat Al Bahrain,”
Both phases of its residential villas are expected to be delivered to homeowners shortly.
Durrat Al Bahrain is owned by the Durrat Khaleej Al Bahrain Company, in which the Government of Bahrain and Kuwait Finance House (KFH) each hold a 50 per cent stake. Upon completion from 2010, it is expected to be approximately the size of Manama, Bahrain’s capital city, and accommodate more than 60,000 permanent residents as well as some 4,500 visitors a day.
The $6-billion resort is being built over a series of man-made islands – six atolls (coral lagoon islands) and five petal islands (fish-shaped) arranged in two circular rows radially above a crescent-shaped island, The Crescent. The atolls and petal islands will have 1,700 luxury residential villas, gardens and beaches. The Crescent, which will be the urban hub of Durrat Al Bahrain, will offer a comprehensive choice of exclusive shops, restaurants, 3,600 luxurious apartments, offices, hotels and spas, as well as local amenities such as mosques and international schools.
Durrat Khaleej Al Bahrain – in partnership with Tameer – is also spearheading the development of Durrat Marina as part of Durrat Al Bahrain. This $1.3 billion mixed-use marina development, covering 700,000 sq m across three islands close to the mainland, is expected to a first-of-its-kind in the Middle East.
Reclamation work on the Durrat Marina was completed last July.
Set in a separate lagoon is a full service marina providing berthing space for some 400 boats and yachts complete with waterfront villas, townhouses, apartments, commercial space, recreational facilities, restaurants and cafes lining its winding paths and waterways to cater to some 4,000 households. The design of the development will provide residents with splendid views of the open sea and the adjacent golf course.
The 18-hole golf course designed by Ernie Els, the world-renowned golf champion, is located on the mainland. The golf course precinct will comprise a challenging course, a clubhouse, a driving range, a luxury hotel complex and 1,400 stylishly designed luxury residential villas and apartments lining the course’s greens and open fairways
The Central Hotel, positioned on an island at the centre of the entire development, will feature 300 to 600 rooms and suites. It will also have an aqua park, mega soft play zones, a nursery, water sports centre and spa, a tennis and fitness club, and family restaurants.
The master planner/architect of the project is Atkins, the renowned engineering design and consultancy; project/development manager is KMC Bovis, a joint venture between the Kuwaiti Manager Company and Bovis Lend Lease and HAJ is the quantity surveyor for the development.
Already more than 1,000 luxury villas have been developed across the islands. The villas were sold to homeowners in two phases, with the first phase originally planned to be delivered in April last year. However, to ensure that new homeowners have an optimal experience when they move in, the management of Durrat Al Bahrain took the decision to hand over both phases of villas to homeowners simultaneously.
The development, located 54 km from Bahrain International Airport, is accessible by a two-line highway linking it from Manama.