Bahrain has awarded a major contract to Tilke, a global engineering and architecture company based in Germany, to provide consultancy services for its new exhibition and conference centre coming up next to the Bahrain International Circuit on a 308,000-sq-m area in Sakhir.

With a built-up area of 149,000 sq m, the project will boast 10 exhibition halls with a total area of 95,000 sq m along with all the necessary services in addition to areas dedicated for retail and events.

Minister of  Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning Essam bin Abdulla Al Khalaf signed the agreement with Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority CEO Shaikh Khalid bin Humood Al Khalifa and Hermann Tilke, representing the project’s consulting firm in the presence of Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani.

Al Khalaf said the giant facility will include a 4,500-sq-m conference hall which will be divided into three separate hi-tech rooms. It will also include 27 small and medium conference and meeting rooms with a total area of about 1,700 sq m.

Bids for the construction of its ambitious exhibition and convention city project will be invited during the first quarter of 2018. The detailed designs for the expo centre project, being prepared in co-operation with the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, are nearing completion, reported the BNA news agency.