The Cyprus Building and Road Construction Company (Cybroc) has been awarded the main construction contract to build Bahrain’s estimated $43m National Theatre Building in Manama.

Cybroc was one of seven bidders competing for the contract to build the 11,869-square-metre theatre. Local firms Al-Moayyed Contracting, Bokhowa Group, Cebarco, Kooheji Contractors and Mohammed Jalal & Sons Contracting joined Cyprus-based GP Zachariades as the other bidders.

The National Theatre Building was designed by France’s Architecture Studio to rival iconic performance halls in Europe and the USA. The main elements of the project include:

• 1,000-seat auditorium
• 100-seat auditorium
• Equipment rooms
• External landscaping
• Parking space
• Access roads

Technical work on the National Theatre will also include installation of specialised equipment for acoustics, communications, stage lighting, orchestra pit, curtains and associated controls.

Bahrain’s Public Works Ministry is funding the project and is expecting handover by July 2012, to coincide with Bahrain’s status as Arab Capital of Culture that year.  

The theatre project is also part of Bahrain’s larger strategy to attract tourists and boost tourism revenue that, in 2009, was estimated at $1.7bn.

In addition to the National Theatre, UK-based Zaha Hadid Architects designed a 10,000 square-metre Museum of Contemporary Arts, to be situated near the Gulf of Bahrain. The building’s design draws inspiration from the traditional Islamic architecture found close to the site in Muharraq (MEED 21:4:10).