Dilmunia Canal is Bahrain's newest attraction
The Phase One of Dilmunia Canal, the largest man-made water canal in Bahrain, has opened to public. Running 1.7 km long, the key development boasts a variety of water features including waterfalls, innovative water jets and dancing coloured fountains.
More Stories
People in Bahrain have a new destination to flock to over the weekends: the Dilmunia Canal, Phase 1 of which was announced open for the public.
The much-awaited project will be celebrated with a six-week-long food festival, starting Thursday, Abdulaziz Khattak writes for Trade Arabia.
Measuring 1.7 km, the Dilmunia Canal is Bahrain’s largest manmade water canal, stretching from the Dilmunia Marina in the north to Dilmunia Garden in the south. It will have a variety of water features, including waterfalls, innovative water jets and dancing coloured fountains.
The Dilmunia Canal was designed by French firm Sogreah Gulf – Artelia Group, constructed by Cebarco Bahrain, and supervised by Ansari Engineering Services construction. It’s being developed by Ithmaar Development Company (IDC), master developer of the 125-hectare Dilmunia megaproject.
Commenting on the project, Mohammed Khalil Alsayed, IDC CEO, said: “In line with our commitment to delivering value for residents, visitors and investors, this latest development is expected to become the venue for many memorable events and a key attraction for families throughout the year. We also hope that the Dilmunia Canal and Fountain will be an interesting tourist attraction in Bahrain.”
The project’s contractors have ensured quality work and equipment. The pumping station, south of the island that brings water to the canal, was constructed by Cebarco and the machinery was acquired from the US, Germany and Italy.
Water is pumped from the sea and transported through underground pipes, and let out at the point where Phases 1 and 2 meet. Water flows by gravity, southwards, where it falls near Canal View, and northwards, where it falls into the marina.
The fountains are all latest German equipment
The project’s features include:
● Dilmunia Fountains: This key attraction was designed and installed by German firm Oase, known for building features around the world, in cooperation with Bahraini firm MH Al Mahroos.
● Canal Walk.
● Pedestrian bridges with globally-inspired designs, and include the Canal View bridge; Venice bridge, which takes its design from bridges in Venice, Italy; and the da Vinci's bridge, whose design follows Leonardo da Vinci's unbuilt bridge design dating centuries back.
The da Vinci's bridge at Dilmunia is also the 2rd bridge in the world to have taken the design after the first in Norway.
In the evenings, the Dilmunia Canal will turn into a spectacular light and water show, where seawater-operated fountains spread over 100 m will create dazzling multimedia shows and choreographed water patterns using more than 1,200 colour-changing LEDs.
WORK IN PROGRESS
The Dilmunia Canal, with a total length of 1.7 km, will continue northwards in Phases 2 and 3, which will include a marina. The second phase will feature more fountains as in Phase 1
Construction work on Phases 2 and 3 will start mid-2021 and is expected to finish end of 2022.
The Canal Walk will have retailed outlets throughout its length on both sides, allowing residents and visitors to enjoy shopping and dining in a vibrant community atmosphere.
Alsayed said it aims to be a premier family-friendly venue for events ranging from food festivals, to art exhibitions and sports competitions.
Water taxis will also be introduced at a later stage, he said.
Public entry to the area is free, and starting March 4 the Mall of Dilmunia has organised a food festival that begins in the evening and extends until midnight. Some 19 booths and food trucks will be spread across the Dilmunia Canal.
These food outlets have been offered free space, electricity and water, said Mohammed bin Duaij Al Khalifa, CEO Mall of Dilmunia.
SUSTAINABILITY
All environmental aspects were considered when constructing the Dilmunia Canal, said Alsayed.
“We did an environment assessment. Sogreah Artelia took every aspect into consideration including hydrodynamic modelling.”
Jean-Claude Bejjani, Project Director, IDC, said the canal will be drained periodically for cleaning. He said emptying the canal will take 24 hours since its 1.3 m deep.
“The water features equipment will then be exposed to sunlight to deactivate harmful organisms.”
Dilmunia is a $1.6 billion mixed-use development built on a man-made island off the coast of Muharraq governorate.
To date, around $590 million investment has been done in Dilmunia $590 million, with $320 million worth of investment in the pipeline, including several projects in design and planning phases, said Alsayed.
“Demand in Dilmunia has gone up with the progress of work on the Canal work,” he concluded. –Tradearabia News Service
Projects
