Bahrain-based developer Grnata Group, which had acquired the prestigious Golden Gate Towers located at Bahrain Bay in March last year, will soon announce a new contractor for the stalled project, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

This announcement has brought much relief to the investors who were left scrambling for answers when construction work stopped five months ago.

Launched in November 2018 with an investment of $130 million, the Golden Gate project was a joint venture between Bahraini-based Kooheji Golden Gate and Indian real estate companies Ajmera Realty and Mayfair Housing. It was billed to become the tallest residential structure in the kingdom, with a total of 746 apartments in two towers of 45 and 53 storeys.

Construction work started in 2019 and the project was set for completion in 36 months. It first ran into trouble in September 2020 with Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) suspending licences awarded to Golden Gate Developers for three months citing ‘serious and repeated violations’. The licences were cancelled in December 2020 as the former developer failed to implement the directives of Rera to address the violations, said the GDN.

This led to Grnata deciding to release the main contractor from the project and Rera imposing ‘several conditions and criteria’ for resuming the project with a new one.

“The main reason of project stoppage is because the previous main contractor faced a financial issue, where he was unable to assign workers on site and was unable to provide resources and materials due to the lack of his liquidity,” said a Grnata spokesperson.