Work on a controversial private university project in A'ali, Bahrain, is set to go ahead after a new plot of land was found.

More than 160 residents signed a petition against the previous location of the Delmon University campus, saying it would cause chaos for householders.

They urged the Central Municipal Council to intervene and relocate the university away from their homes.

Residents argued that the location of the campus, set to be on a side road, would cause chaos in the area and destroy the peace.

They complained the area already hosted many educational institutes, which meant there would be a lack of parking space to accommodate such a facility.

However, the project was ratified by Municipal and Urban Planning Affairs Minister Dr Juma Al Ka'abi after a new location was chosen.

The ministry submitted conditions for construction work to the Central Municipal Council to approve during its bi-weekly meeting held at the Central Municipality headquarters in Isa Town.

Chairman Abdulrazzaq Al Hattab said the project would be four stories high and include two basement floors for a car park.

'These conditions were put to follow the area specifications,' he said.

'The minister approved our proposed location under these conditions.'

The new location, near the Philippines School, will cover an area of around 30,000 square feet.

The new campus will replace the university's existing campus on the Exhibition Avenue.

Work on the project is estimated to take around a year-and-a-half.

The area already has the Philippines School and the Bangladesh School, two buildings belonging to the Al Falah School, a maternity hospital and a Social Development Ministry social centre.

Five of nine Central Municipal councillors voted in favour of the proposal, as four others, who earlier had their membership revoked, were not present.

It came after the four Al Wefaq councillors allegedly joined unauthorised protests and asked the UN to intervene during Bahrain's political unrest.-TradeArabia News Service