Officials from Nass and Diyar Al Muharraq sign the agreement.

Diyar Al Muharraq has named Nass Contracting as contractor for the construction of Phase One of Dragon City, a Chinese-themed retail development in the Diyar Al Muharraq, a master-planned city on the northern shores of Muharraq, Bahrain.

The development, the first of its kind in the country, is taking shape on an 115,000-sq-m area in the southwest corner of Diyar Al Muharraq. It will have a gross floor area of about 51,000 sq m, and comprise approximately 700 individual retail store spaces, warehousing of circa 5,000 sq m, a dining street of some 6,000 sq m and car parking for some 1,500 customer vehicles.

The project will be developed by Dragon City, a subsidiary of Diyar Al Muharraq, with Phase One operation to be undertaken by Chinamex Middle East. Dragon City will offer discount and retail opportunities to local consumers, trade customers and tourists, and cater to both wholesale and retail consumers as well.

An artist’s impression of Dragon City.

An artist’s impression of Dragon City.

Diyar Al Muharraq chairman, Abdul Hakim Al Khayyat said: “We look forward to working hand in hand with Nass Contracting who has an excellent reputation for timely completion of projects with great attention to applying the highest standards of quality standards in all their projects. As per our contract, Dragon City Phase One will be constructed by Nass Contracting over a 14-month period.”

The mall is anticipated to open in June 2015.

Chief executive officer of Nass Contracting Ghazi Nass said: “We guarantee that we will comply with the highest standards of construction which reflect the values of Diyar Al Muharraq.”

The contract was signed at Gulf Property Show, held at Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre last month (May 6 to 8).

The facility will offer a variety of Chinese products such as home appliances, household items, building materials, furniture, toys, machinery, garments, textiles, footwear and general merchandise.

Meanwhile, a construction contract for the second phase of the Diyar Homes affordable housing scheme at Diyar Al Muharraq was also signed at the exhibition.

Diyar Homes, a Bahraini company specialised in affordable housing solutions, awarded the contract to Al Hedaya Construction for the construction of 196 affordable housing units. The villas are designed for Bahraini families and range in size from three to five bedrooms.

Al Hedaya Construction is one of the companies that worked on Phase One of the project.