The new IKEA Bahrain store. Inset: Eng Saleh Khalaf.
IKEA Bahrain in final stage of fit-out
MANAMA, August 26, 2018
The much-awaited IKEA Bahrain store is currently in the final stages of fit-out, a company spokesman has revealed.
The Salmabad facility is almost complete and that the retail fit-out works are in its final stages, said IKEA Bahrain properties and expansion manager, Eng Saleh Khalaf.
IKEA Bahrain is well on its way to being open to the public. The facility will consist of a showroom, market hall and self-serve section, he said. The store will be the biggest in the region with a retail area of 37,000 sq m spread over two floors.
The facility will also include a bistro and Swedish food market each taking up about 500 sq m of the total area. “It will also house the biggest restaurant in the kingdom with a capacity of up to 650 seats and 1,200 parking spaces,” he stated.
“The store’s 220-sq-m play facility, called Smaland, will ensure that customers have an enjoyable shopping experience as children are taken care of by IKEA staff, free of charge,” he added.
“The support of various government bodies has been monumental for the progress we have made with the facility,” said Khalaf.
He said the team received support from the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, Roads Planning and Design Directorate, Electricity and Water Authority, and General Directorate of Civil Defence throughout the project.
”Our team sincerely thanks these government bodies for their full cooperation and continued support during the development of the new IKEA store in Bahrain,” he stated.
Following the store’s ground-breaking in October 2016, construction for the project was carried out by the Bahrain-based company Kooheji Contractors.
IKEA is the world’s largest retailer for furniture and is known around the world for its ready-to-assemble furniture and other home accessories.
IKEA Bahrain is being opened in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Ghassan Ahmed Al Sulaiman Furniture Trading Company, IKEA Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. – TradeArabia News Service
