Work on a $1 billion (BD378 million) luxury resort in Bahrain shows no sign of resuming, a year after construction was brought to a halt.

The Salam Bahrain Beach Resort and Spa should have been completed on Bahrain's southwest coast last summer, but is still a deserted building site.

The Gulf Daily News exclusively revealed in July that work had ground to a halt with bills worth millions of dinars allegedly unpaid by developer Sama Dubai.

Hundreds of companies are allegedly owed money by main contractor Nass Corporation and its joint venture partner Murray and Roberts, who in turn are owed cash by the UAE developer.

The GDN also reported that two separate companies working on the project estimated the outstanding bills to be as much as BD20 million.

Nass Corporation and Murray and Roberts officials have declined to comment, citing confidentiality agreements with Sama Dubai, but sources said there was no sign of the project resuming.

'We have been waiting for some signs of a restart, but nothing has happened,' said one source on condition of anonymity.

'We were hoping there would be some positive developments after Ramadan, but even that has not happened.'

The GDN's attempts to contact Sama Dubai have so far proved unsuccessful and a recorded message says phone numbers listed on its website are no longer in service.

Its ambitious project ground to a halt last January, almost a year into development, when Sama Dubai allegedly pulled the plug on a contract it signed with Nass Corporation and Murray and Roberts.

The project had been reportedly earmarked as a venue for GCC leaders' meetings, but it is understood it was crippled by global financial turmoil and Dubai's property market crash.

Sources have also claimed design problems contributed to the crisis at the development, where work was halted so fast that cranes and other building materials were abandoned at the site.

The project, supposed to resemble an Arabian citadel and described by developers as a 'magnificent tribute to the history and culture of the region', was to feature a luxury beach hotel, restaurants, spa and wellness centre.

Other facilities were to include a fitness centre, hotel villas, freehold apartments, a 'vibrant' suq, a 20,000-square foot conference hall and waterways located alongside a harbour.

The entire development had been billed as a '500,000sqm bastion of opulence and luxury', while views from the 228-room hotel were promised to be 'as stunning as its palatial spaces and opulent interiors'.

By night it is supposed to be a place where the 'young and trendy, the fashion-conscious and the rich and famous will come out to meet, dine or simply unwind'.

However, sources claimed whatever building had taken place before the plug was pulled was now 'crumbling' due to the amount of time that had elapsed since construction stopped.-TradeArabia News Service