Global Real Estate Development Company (Gredco), a Bahraini developer, has invited companies to bid in early December for a major dredging contract on its $2.5bn Marsa al-Seef development in Bahrain.

The prospective bidders include two Belgian companies Jan De Nul and Dredging International; Royal Boskalis Westminster and Van Oord, both of the Netherlands; and US-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company.

The successful bidder will dredge and reclaim about 20 million cubic metres of material that Gredco will use to create an island off the coast of northern Bahrain.

When finished, the island will cover an area of approximately 2.5 square kilometres.

The developer plans to build a mixed-use development on the island including residential towers, office buildings, a shopping mall, parks and waterfront restaurants and cafes.

Gredco is part of Bahrain’s Global Banking Corporation.

The project is the second dredging contract to be tendered in the kingdom in recent months. Earlier in November, local developer Manara Developments awarded an estimated $26m contract for dredging work on its $1bn Nurana development to Great Lakes.

The deal involves the dredging and reclamation of 3 million cubic metres of material that Manara will use to make a 2-million-square-metre waterfront development,north of the Seef district, overlooking the Bahrain Fort (MEED 24:11:09).

Manara Developments is a subsidiary of Bahrain’s Al-Salam Bank.