Bahrain Financial Harbour

Bahrain Financial Harbour (Arabic: مرفأ البحرين المالي, commonly abbreviated as BFH) is a waterfront commercial development project located on the northern shore of Manama, the capital city of Bahrain. Costing $1.5 billion and covering an area of 380,000 square metres, the two main Harbour Towers were officially opened in May 2007. As a result of the Great Recession, the project suffered numerous delays for much of the next decade before construction finally resumed in 2016.^[3][4][5][6]

Bahrain Financial Harbour
مرفأ البحرين المالي
The Bahrain Financial Harbour towers in 2020
Record height
Preceded by	Bahrain WTC
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Mixed use
Location	Manama, Bahrain
Coordinates	26°14′16″N 50°34′24″E / 26.23778°N 50.57333°E / 26.23778; 50.57333
Construction started	2004
Completed	2009
Cost	US$1.5 billion +
Height
Roof	260 m (853 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	53 (4 basement floors)
Floor area	380,000 m^2 (4,090,000 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators	2+
Design and construction
Architect(s)	AJ Architects^[2]
Main contractor	Al Hamad Con. Co.^[1]
Other information
Parking	11,000
Website
BFHarbour.com

Overview

The commercial complex is located on the northern shoreline of Manama, adjacent to the King Faisal Highway which links Manama to Saudi Arabia via the King Fahd Causeway. The majority of the project, like the nearby Bahrain Bay, is being constructed on reclaimed land on the former site of the Manama pier.

Construction of the Bahrain Financial Harbour started in 2003 and the two main Harbour Towers were completed in May 2007. However, construction of the rest of the project including the Bahrain Performance Centre, residential Diamond Tower and Villamar apartment buildings was delayed largely due to the Great Recession.^[3]

The BFH project consists of multiple construction phases such as:^[3]

Harbour Towers

The two tallest twin-towers, Harbour Tower East and Harbour Tower West, are listed as the second tallest completed towers in Bahrain, with a height of 260 m (853 ft) with 53 floors. The towers provide a total of 100,000 square metres of office space.^[5]

Harbour Gate

Also called Harbour Mall (harbour), it is a six-storey building that houses the Bahrain Stock Exchange and various investment firms.^[7][3] It has approximately 22,000 square metres of retail space and is connected to both Harbour Towers at the second floor.^[5]

Harbour Heights

The Harbour Heights Towers (formerly Villamar) are 3 residential skyscrapers located to the north of the Harbour Towers. The towers are 54, 43 and 52 storeys high and boast 437 apartments, 52 villas, and 17 penthouses in addition to a health club and restaurants.^[8] With a cost of $650 million, construction began in 2006 and was originally scheduled to be completed by 2009. However, repeated delays saw the project being put on hold in October 2011 due to the Bahrain uprising, the global financial crisis, and a liquidity problem at the parent company, Gulf Holding Company. Construction briefly restarted in 2012 when it was estimated to have been halfway done before construction ceased again. The Bahraini government in 2015 formed a committee to oversee stalled projects in the country. In 2016, Gulf Finance House Financial Group announced that work on the towers would recommence in the same year.^[9]

Harbour Row

The project consists of a row of luxury homes alongside a commercial waterfront promenade. Construction of the $150 million project started in 2016 after its building permit was issued.^[9]

Unfinished projects

• Bahrain Performance Center
• Diamond Tower
• Dhow Harbour
• Residential North
• Residential South

Tenants

• BNP Paribas
• Khaleeji Commercial Bank
• Gulf Finance House
• Ministry of Transportation – Headquarters on Floors 9, 32, and 33, Land Transport office on Floor 32^[10]
• Newton Legal
• Norton Rose
• Baker & McKenzie
• Al-Tamimi & Company
• Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Tourism
• PricewaterhouseCoopers

Gallery

•  

  Bahrain Financial Harbour at night

•  

  Overview of Manama

•  

  The Harbour and the Bahrain World Trade Centre

See also

• List of tallest buildings and structures in Bahrain
• List of twin buildings and structures

References

1. "Al Hamad Group of Companies Web Portal".
2. . Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
3. "Work to start soon at Bahrain Financial Harbour". www.tradearabia.com. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
4. "Work on Bahrain's $650m Villamar to resume Q2 2016". Construction Week Online Middle East. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
5. "Work starts on $150m Harbour Row project in Bahrain". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
6. The Report: Bahrain 2008. Oxford Business Group. ISBN 978-1-902339-97-9. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
7. "Harbour Gate - The Harbour". bfharbour.com. Bahrain Financial Harbour. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
8. "Here is all you need to know about the current status of stalled real estate projects in Bahrain". Local Insights. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
9. "Construction of much-delayed $650m Bahrain project set to start". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
10. "Contact Us Archived 2014-02-07 at archive.today" Ministry of Transportation. Retrieved on February 7, 2014. "Ministry of Transportation (Headquarters) P.O. Box 10325 Kingdom of Bahrain Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Courier address: 9th/32nd/33rd Floor, East Tower, Bahrain Financial Harbour" and "Land Transportation P.O. Box 10325 Kingdom of Bahrain Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Courier address: 32nd Floor, East Tower, Bahrain Financial Harbour" Address in Arabic Archived 2014-02-07 at archive.today : "وزارة المواصلات (المقر الرئيسي) صندوق بريد 10325 مملكة البحرين هاتف: 0097317534534 فاكس: 0097317534041 العنوان: الطابق 9، 32، 33 مرفأ البحرين المالي - البرج الشرقي " and "النقل البري صندوق بريد 10325 مملكة البحرين هاتف: 0097317534534 فاكس: 0097317534041 العنوان: الطابق 32 مرفأ البحرين المالي - البرج الشرقي "

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bahrain Financial Harbour.

• Official website