Trees and flowers will be planted across Bahrain under a new initiative announced yesterday (July 12).

The new plan was unveiled by Works, Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Ministry assistant under-secretary for common municipal services Raed Al Salah, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

He said the idea was to give each highway, avenue and road included in the scheme its own distinctive design.

“A new beautification goal has to be set and with it major makeovers have to come,” he said.

“Every highway, avenue and road will have its own distinctive design and will see certain trees and flowers that will not be repeated within a certain distance.

“Bahrain is the only country in the region with a seed distribution machine that makes outdoor planting easier and cleaner and that technology will be vital in our plan, which we will now start working on.”

He was speaking as he toured Adhari Plantation Nurseries Centre with assistant under-secretary for resources and information Shaikh Nasser bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.

Al Salah said farmers could be helped with new gardening machinery and techniques.

“We can provide assistance and machinery to farmers, besides support to increase production, marketing and other support services in line with advancements available in the market or those used at the moment for governmental work.”

Shaikh Nasser said the Adhari Plantation Nurseries Centre would be turned into an educational and training institute that offers free courses to the public on new gardening technology and beautification concepts.

“We need a new generation that appreciates gardening and beautification and is able to develop farming work in Bahrain, while helping generate ideas for us related to the way we do work in a creative and visionary manner,” he said.

“Hydroponic gardening is one concept that doesn’t require much and could provide families with necessary fruits, vegetables and flowers.

“It could be a profitable business for families if done correctly, saving water by 90 per cent.”

Nurseries development head Abbas Arafat said trees and flowers being planted across Bahrain required low maintenance.

“We are working according to the lowest budget because we have good quality trees and flowers that are eco-friendly, don’t get affected by the weather or damaged a lot due to our planting techniques,” he said.

“The centre, which covers 30,000 metres, produces two million petunia flowers a year and we are planning to further increase it.” - TradeArabia News Service