Owners of boats and yachts at the Marina Club in Bahrain have been given until April 30 to find a new place to dock.

They were supposed to relocate by the end of last month in preparation for a major revamp of the coastline, but have been given an additional four-month grace period, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The Marina Club is located on a stretch of shoreline earmarked for a 150,000-sq-m property development spearheaded by Amlak, a subsidiary of the Social Insurance Organisation (SIO).

Work on the project - which includes a five-star hotel, apartments, waterfront villas, a shopping mall, marina and restaurants - is due to start in the third quarter of this year and is scheduled for completion by 2019.

Amlak has refused to disclose the cost of the project, which will incorporate a revamped version of the Marina Club.

“We have over 600 members at the Marina Club and 335 vessels docked at the club,” Amlak said in a statement to the GDN.

“We can't give a definite answer in regards to the remaining figure of the boats currently docked in the club, as members are currently moving their vessels in preparation for the launch of enabling works of the Bahrain Marina Development Project, which will kick off by Q3 of this year.

“The deadline for members to move their boats is by April 30.”

It added that a meeting with club members would take place soon to discuss the implications of the redevelopment.

“We will shortly host a meeting with all members to discuss the recent announcement and iron out any situations that could arise,” it said.

Amlak also revealed that plans for the project had been on the drawing board for more than a year.

“We at Amlak are looking at the bigger picture, in which we are launching a new development project right in the heart of the capital which will further drive our economy, attract tourism and create jobs,” it said.

“The management team at Amlak has been carefully crafting the strategy behind the Bahrain Marina Development Project for over a year.

“The process includes understanding market needs, analysis of competition, learning from other projects launched in neighbouring countries and so forth.” - TradeArabia News Service