Work is well underway on the new Indian Embassy in Bahrain, and will open its doors next year, said a top official.

The structure of the new building is more than 21 per cent completed, embassy second secretary Gaurav Gandhi told our sister publication the Gulf Daily News (GDN), with the consular team gearing up to move into the new premises by the start of next summer.

"As per our plans we will be relocating to the new premises by the end of May 2015," said Gandhi.

"Work is progressing as expected, at a fast pace, and by the end of June, a 17.7pc completion was recorded."

Overseeing the BD2.8 million ($7.4 million) project is Abdulrahman Al Mansoori (ARM) Contracting Company, whose senior project manager Santosh Koti revealed that construction was currently focused on the ground and first floors of the chancery building and the residential quarters.

"The project includes two main buildings - the chancery building, which accommodates the library, consular hall, the auditorium and the residential building," said Koti.

"Until now, there has been no changes made to the initial plans, which is usually done on the client's requirement.

"The structure of the two main buildings is expected to be completed by end of this year and the furnishing, which includes flooring, wall cladding, aluminium work and painting, is expected to take another four to five months.

Construction of the new embassy began in December last year when the then Indian Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid, accompanied by Bahrain's Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, laid the foundation stone.

The Indian government purchased 7,598 sq m of land opposite Citibank in 2005 for the works, which will include the chancery building, staff residence, library, consular hall and an auditorium that can accommodate up to 500 people.

Since India opened its first diplomatic mission in Bahrain in 1973, its embassy has been functioning in rented buildings but the new building's title deed is now in the possession of the embassy.

The GDN had previously reported on the inconvenience caused to Bahrain's vast Indian expatriate population by the space constraints at the present embassy building in Adliya, especially during the summer.

It is expected that the consular area in the new building will have facilities like a mini photography studio as well as photocopying and related services and several help desks. The new complex could also house a large multi-purpose hall for holding community meetings. – TradeArabia News Service