Ithmaar Development Company, the development arm of the Bahrain-based Ithmaar banking group, has appointed managers for two major projects, the $1.6 billion Dilmunia ‘health island’ and a $175 million 38-storey hotel/office complex and residential tower, to be located off the Kingdom’s Seef District.

Jean-Claude Bejjani’s role, among others, will be as the project manager of Dilmunia, a 1.25 million-square-metre island, to be reclaimed on the north east coast of Bahrain, and which is set to revolutionise health care in the Kingdom and turn it into a hub for health tourism.

Rizwan Mumtaz will be the project manager of Ithmaar Development Company’s high rise developments, starting with the hotel and residential project to be located off Bahrain’s up and coming Seef District.

“We welcome the two new additions to our management teams, both of whom bring to the table broad experience from having worked on mega developments and infrastructure projects in the region before. Rizwan and Jean-Claude will be valued assets to us as we continue to expand our portfolio and enter new territories,” said Ithmaar Development Company CEO and member of the board Mohammed Khalil Alsayed.

Bejjani, a French-Lebanese national, comes to Ithmaar Development Company from French multinational/ Partenaires Développement, where, in his capacity as resident manager in Bahrain, he oversaw planning and early execution works on the new Northern Town, a $ 4.5 billion mega project which is being built by the Government of Bahrain in the Kingdom’s Northern Governorate.

Mumtaz, who has a Master in Civil Engineering from Kansas State University, is a specialised engineer with over two decades of experience in project management, construction management and structural engineering.

Also part of Ithmaar Development Company’s current $3.3 billion projects portfolio is the $1.5 billion Aljazayer Beach Resort project, which will completely revamp the existing facility and turn it into a world class attraction for residents and tourists.

Just coming out of its first full year of operations, the company’s profits contributed significantly to parent Ithmaar Bank’s $188.3 million record net profit for the year ended December 31, 2007. – TradeArabia News Service