Communication - Press
Work on track at new towns
INFRASTRUCTURE work worth BD245 million is being carried out at five new housing towns across the country.
The projects include roadworks, pedestrian crossings, bridges, sewage networks and electricity connections along with other facilities and technical requirements that would serve a population of 240,000.
They are being done at Salman Town, Khalifa Town, East Hidd Town, East Sitra Town and Al Ramli District, along with social housing expansions at existing residential areas.
This was revealed yesterday by Housing Minister Bassem Al Hamer, who said rehabilitation and clearing works were also ongoing on plots of land earmarked for private homes and those for public services.
“Secondary infrastructure work in the new towns include paving roads, pedestrian crossings and pavements covering a distance of 655km, construction of six bridges in Salman Town, two of which are ready and another two are in the process,” said Mr Al Hamer in a statement.
“We have also allocated special lanes for bicycles stretching a distance of 186km and have found space for 54 public transport points.
“Other work includes sewerage networks stretching 342km, rain drainage networks covering a distance of 201km, while Salman Town has seen the construction of a sewage treatment plant with a capacity of up to 60,000 cubic metres.
“The infrastructure work also included electricity connections stretching 1,205km, water pipes at a length of 332km, besides 767 electricity substations.”
He said plans for the new towns also include allocating space for places of worship, educational institutions, health centres, and open squares and public parks.
“We have allocated 252 locations for public parks, 34 open spaces, 109 places for commercial purposes, 42 educational facilities, 65 for worship, a general hospital, seven health centres, 11 clinics and a sports city,” he added.
“Seafront areas stretching 41km are available at Salman Town, East Hidd Town and East Sitra Town.
“This will all serve 240,000 people who are set to live in the towns whenever they reach full capacity.”
The Cabinet announced last week that general infrastructure projects worth almost BD300 million are currently underway in Bahrain.
They include 31 road projects worth BD138m, 50 sewerage projects worth BD124m and 23 construction projects worth BD35m.
Parliament’s financial and economic affairs committee vice-chairman Ahmed Al Amer said government plans to provide infrastructure services along with new social housing projects showed a drastic change in how government work has developed.
In 2017 the GDN reported on vital infrastructure projects put on hold due to miscommunication between government bodies.
Bahrain’s three municipal councils – Muharraq, Southern and Northern – claimed at the time that work on some projects was shelved for almost a decade because different government ministries have set separate priority lists.
“Now, we have all ministries and government authorities working together to provide comprehensive services in a collective manner rather than the previous randomness that saw homes, roads and sewage networks built at different times,” said Mr Al Amer.
“Improving organisation work has led to less spending when it comes to planning, digging and construction, and it also reflects on the speed and efficiency of the projects.”
Source: http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/581544/Work-on-track-at-new-towns
