Gulf Construction Online - Galleria ‘refreshing addition to Manama’

Bahrain

The Galleria ... spreads over an area of 25,000 sq m.

Galleria ‘refreshing addition to Manama’

01 January 2016

Bahrain’s latest family shopping and recreation destination is set to open its doors next month (February) in the upmarket Zinj area of Manama.

Galleria, constructed by Dadabhai Construction, will offer a first-of-its-kind retail and dining experience in Bahrain, says its developer Dadabhai Group’s MD Holding Company.

The development has been conceived as a boutique/strip mall, sprawling across a plot area of 25,000 sq m along the Shaikh Isa bin Salman Highway and boasting a total built-up area of over 41,000 sq m. It will include a massive 12,800-sq-m hypermarket, extending over two floors.

MD Holding Company’s director Shabeer Dadabhai comments: “Galleria will be a refreshing addition to Central Manama, offering a modern architecture and open layout design, lush landscapes and tree-lined avenues, as opposed to the traditional closed recreational and shopping centres.”

He says the project has been designed to incorporate attractive and unique elevational features and executed with the highest international standards in quality and safety.

Dadabhai (left) and Kumar.

“Glass facades, elegant tree-lined walkways and tranquil water features, harmoniously combine to bring to life a destination that sublimely merges the charm of the outdoors with elegant designs of the indoors,” says Dadabhai.

Galleria is described as an all-in-one shopping experience where stores open onto wide outdoor spaces for families to gather in a relaxed environment offering various options for all age groups for their shopping, dining and recreational needs.

“Sophisticated and state-of-the-art high-end facilities and amenities to provide a quality product to the end-users has made it a benchmark in the construction industry,” he adds.

Elaborating on the overall construction of the project, Dadabhai Construction’s CEO Ajith Kumar states that the building is a precast and prestressed structure, which was completed in just three months.

“Modern techniques and equipment were employed to complete the project well before the scheduled completion date. Quality checks were conducted regularly for comprehensive quality assurance and quality control, in addition to systematic quality control procedures to ensure high quality standards.”

Dedicated three-storey car parking.

Kumar says an in-house testing laboratory was set up to ensure that the right quality of materials was used. “Through efficient project planning and meticulous monitoring of the works, the project – which started in August 2014 – has been completed in just 14 months as against the original schedule of 21 months and handed over.”

He further adds that proper housekeeping and safety practices were followed to ensure a safe and clean working atmosphere under the directives of experienced safety officers. A total of 1,216,100 man-hours were completed without any accident or unsafe act recorded, Kumar points out.

Contractors, well reputed in their respective trades, were appointed for specialised contracts, says Kumar, adding that works were carried out under the constant supervision of experienced consultants, engineers and supervisors.

As much as 12,350 sq m of the development have been set aside for shopping and dining spaces, featuring prominent fashion brands and international and new-to-Bahrain food and beverage franchises and eateries. In addition, visitors will also have at their disposal three dedicated floors of parking for more than 580 cars, as well as several convenient outdoor parking spaces.

Galleria tenants include a large hypermarket as the anchor store, apparel boutiques, home furnishings, banks, coffee shops, retail and utility stores, casual dining restaurants, Arabic cafes, dessert places, pharmacies, and sportswear and equipment.

Ali Barhoom, retail property development manager at Pegasus Real Estate, says a good tenant mix has been planned, with 40 per cent of space reserved for retail units, 20 per cent for utility services and 40 per cent for food and beverage outlets.

The Galleria project has won Arabian Property Awards for ‘Highly Commended Retail Development in Bahrain’, presented by the International Property Awards Syndicate, UK.