A major festival will be held this weekend to celebrate Bahrain's first major coastal project to be built with the support of the private sector.

Fireworks, recreational games, free food, a heritage village and traditional music are some of the attractions that being organised during the celebrations in Malkiya beach on Saturday.

The BD700,000 coastal renovation was financed by Alba, which donated the majority of the amount for the Northern Municipality and Northern Municipal Council to develop an area of 15,000 square metres.

The project includes a 300-metre walkway, green landscapes, playgrounds, and rest areas among other facilities.

Alba has volunteered to fund the project following the council's efforts to persuade companies to finance public developments.

The opening ceremony will be held under the patronage of Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Minister Dr Juma Al Ka'abi.

He will officially open the coast alongside Alba chairman Mahmood Al Kooheji.

Municipality director-general Abdulkarim Hassan said that the project was completed faster than anticipated after the foundation stone was laid in December 2009.

'This project is one of many under the Elevate scheme, which also involves clubs, societies and charity funds undertaking projects such as renovating homes and landscaping,' said Hassan.

'This is the first project where a company became a partner in the scheme and shortly afterwards many came forward, signalling a new chapter in municipal work in the governorate.'

Hassan said that this weekend's celebration would feature many activities for families.

'Children's games and food will be offered free and there will be a big stage for various performances as well as a heritage village,' he said.

'A football ground will be arranged and traditional and cultural competitions, Bahraini handicrafts and fireworks will also be there.'

The celebration will be from 9am to 10pm. Alba production operations chief executive and Alba's community service committee chairman Mohammed Mahmood said that the unique nature of the project convinced them to immediately volunteer to fund it.

'When we saw the project, we immediately accepted it because we knew that it was outstanding and could be of international standards,' he said.

'Malkiya residents, as agreed, will be in charge of coming up with funding for future maintenance and remodeling and a committee has been formed to supervise the process.

'Alba has many projects directed at the community and we hope that Malkiya would open the door for us to do more as we look for unique projects to support.'

Council chairman Ali Al Jabal said that councillors' hard work had paid off with the completion of the project faster than expected.

'A year ago, we were not confident that this project will see light, a year later and here we are, presenting the public with something unique,' he said.

'We are very happy with our partnership with Alba and it has been really fruitful, considering that the public now has a place to enjoy themselves.'-TradeArabia News Service