Local developer Ithmaar Development Company has been forced to put its $185m Al-Seef tower development in Bahrain on hold indefinitely.

Ithmaar has not been able to obtain required government approval for the project in the Al-Seef district, an area of reclaimed land in Manama, according to a source close to the project.

Ithmaar has not been able to obtain the required government approval for the project in Al-Seef

The 44-storey tower would have been one of the tallest in Bahrain and was designed as a mixed-use development, containing offices, residential apartments, and a four-star hotel.

The government is not willing to grant permission for residential properties at the proposed site, says the source. The developer has been in discussions about moving the project to another location in Manama in order to allow the development to go ahead. However, no agreement has been reached yet.

UK-based Mott Macdonald was appointed as the design engineer for the Al-Seef development in 2008 (MEED 28:8:08).

The Ithmaar project is not the first tower scheme in the Al-Seef district to be put on hold. In June last year, local developer First Bahrain Real Estate Development Company cancelled plans for a $450m mixed-use development. The company said it made the decision because of changes to the economic environment and Bahrain’s real estate market (MEED 9:6:09).