ALARGE number of projects are currently under way or on the drawing board to boost the country's tourism potential.

Designs are being drawn up for the BD300 million ($795.75 million) tourist coastal resort, the Pearl of Bahrain, which is expected to be completed in three years. Work on the Bahrain-Saudi project will be executed in three phases: reclamation of land, building of chalets and setting up of basic services and infrastructure, and construction of entertainment facilities and housing units.

The project site covers 20 sq km, according to the promoter Dallah Al Baraka Group. Several islands will be linked by a network of bridges which will, in turn, be connected to the King Fahad Causeway. The project is a joint venture between Dallah Al Baraka and the Government of Bahrain.

Abdullah Ahmed Nass (AANass) has won the contract for land reclamation work on a project designed to transform the Marina Club into a premier international destination. Work on the two-phased project is expected to start this month (January) and be completed in three years. A 32,200 sq m area is to be reclaimed from the sea, northeast of the existing property, in four months.

The resort will be built on a seafront, with a hotel, 77 chalets, restaurant, pools, shopping centre and other facilities. Phase One, which is to be completed in 18 months, will include the reclamation of land, landscaping, building of a toddlers pool and construction of 38 chalets. Phase Two will include a 200-room hotel, restaurant, the shopping centre and the remaining chalets. The existing club facilities will also be upgraded.

AA Nass is also involved in land reclamation work on a BD3 million ($7.95 million) project which is expected to transform Al Dar Island daytime beach and watersports centre into a self-contained, overnight resort. Landfill will extend to the north and east of the existing island, which is located about 2 km offshore from the Bahrain Yacht Club in Sitra. Gredeco Ansari Consultants is finalising the overall design for the project. Construction financing of the BD1.1 million first phase of the project has been approved by the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait and the Bahrain Development Bank. The first phase will include eight semi-detached one-bedroom chalets and two two-bedroom chalets (all overlooking or built on water), mooring facilities, a multipurpose clubhouse, an 80-seat seafood restaurant, an outdoor swimming pool complex, an artificial reef, a private beach, and landscaped picnic areas. Chalet construction is scheduled for completion by mid-2000. A total of 62 chalets are expected to be built when the third phase is completed in 2003.

A massive project has also been launched to transform the coast of Al Jazair Beach into a tourism complex. It will include a four-star hotel, three artificial lagoons connected by pedestrian flyovers and luxury chalets.

Work is under way on Phase One which will be completed in 18 months, according to a spokesman for the Parks Directorate. The complex will cover a 4-km stretch of coastline. Surrounding land will be rented out to investors to develop supermarkets, restaurants and other tourist attractions, he added.

Reclamation work is under way on the Lulu Island development next to the Mina Manama. Boskalis Westminster started work on the estimated BD1.4 million reclamation contract in August and is expected to complete it by February 2000. The project entails the development of a five-star beach resort and recreational facilities. Negotiations are currently under way with a number of international operators to manage the facility, a spokesman for the client EBH Holdings told Gulf Construction. Al Zayani Profabril is the local consultant on the project.

The complex will be built on reclaimed land around the existing Lulu (Pearl) Island, a man-made island off the coast of Manama which will be connected to the mainland via a 100-m causeway. The site, covering a total area of 120,000 sq m, has been leased for a 50-year period from the Central Municipal Council from February 1, 1999.

Tenders for the BD8.5 million ($22.54 million) Dana Resort are expected to be issued shortly. Al Jazira Tourism Company is developing the resort which is to be built on a site south of Shaikh Hamad Causeway.

The resort will now include up to 200 chalets, instead of the 110 chalets originally planned. In addition to the chalets, the resort will include restaurants and water sport facilities.

A BD1.5 million ($3.97 million) extension to the Gulf Hotel is planned to be built by the Bahrain Hotels Company.

A number of three and four-star hotels are nearing completion. The Al Safir hotel is set for a soft opening this month. Another hotel in Hoora opposite the King Faisal Highway, which has long been under construction, is close to structural completion. Construction work on the 10-storey California Hotel has now reached the eight slab level.

Construction work has begun on the new BD550,000 ($1.46 million) Ponderosa Steakhouse on King Faisal Corniche. Dar Al Bahrain has been appointed general contractor for the family restaurant by Bahrain Family Leisure Company (BFLC). The 760 sq m restaurant has been designed to accommodate 224 diners and is expected to be opened in April 2000.

Adel Ahmadi Associates is the consultant on the project as well as on another BFLC's restaurant Bennigans Grill and Tavern. BLFC, which has yet to select a suitable location for the restaurant, hopes to open it in September.