Bahrain’s Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry has invited companies to bid by 1 August for a contract to build and operate a retail centre in Hamad Town.

Known as Hamad Town Central Souq, the project involves the construction of a retail centre on a 12,000 square metre site of government-owned land, followed by an operation period of 35 years.

Hamad Town is one of Bahrain’s largest new towns. Work started on the project in the early 1980s and the cornerstone was laid in 1984. The project was not fully completed until 2015. Altogether, it has more than 12,000 housing units accommodating 60,000 to 70,000 inhabitants.