Bahrain will launch a new independent FM radio station early next month that will cater to the kingdom's Asian community, said a top official.

The station on 104.2FM is being launched by the Talent Education Consultancy Company and will start with non-stop Hindi music broadcasts on June 1 before commencing its full programme service 48 hours later.

The station will replace Radio Voice, which operated on the same frequency, having secured the licence for the radio slot after the last broadcaster's five-year lease expired.

Talent Education Consultancy Company was chosen to operate the station based on an open tender process initiated last December by the Information Affairs Authority (IAA).

'While the station will predominantly broadcast in Hindi, we will have a small slot for music and programmes in other Indian languages as well,' a spokesman said. 'Your FM will offer refreshingly entertaining fare for listeners for which we already have a team of six DJs in place.'

The spokesman said the DJs were native Hindi speakers recruited from some of India's top radio stations and were well-known household names.

'The idea is to be different and creative and offer something to listeners they have not experienced in Bahrain before,' he added.

'We have an extensive training and familiarisation programme in place which the DJs are undergoing because they have to be familiar with what the people need.'

The spokesman said although the station would use state-of-the-art equipment already in place at the Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation studios in Isa Town, latest DJ-operated systems would also be in place.

The station is being run and managed by a team of experts led by Talent Educational Consultancy Company and Your FM chairman Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.

The IAA signed a management and operation contract with the company on May 10. – TradeArabia News Service