Bahrains General Organisation of Sea Ports (GOP) started the tendering process for the construction of a purpose-built service area at the Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP), reported Trade Arabia.
The project will comprise a combined multi-storey car park, warehouse facilities, office space and a gas station to be built within the premises of KBSP, said Hassan Ali Al Majed, director general of GOP. The tender will invite potential developers to bid for the construction and operations of the planned service area that will house a 4,000 capacity car park facility for the import and export of cars.
The construction of the new 41,817 sqm service area is scheduled to begin in June 2011 and the facility operations are expected to commence by May 2013. The service area will also offer 6,500 sqm office space to accommodate approximately 105 offices in addition to retail and office space on the ground floor.
Al Majed said, "As a strategic component of the state-of-the-art KBSP, the service area will provide all tenants and companies operating with a comprehensive and supportive business environment. Our aim is to offer companies, in particular the automotive industry, a tailored package with worldclass amenities to support their commercial activities by cutting costs and increasing efficiency."
The Khalifa Port is aiming to become a major transport hub in the Gulf region. The port is expected to reach a capacity of a million twentyfoot equivalent units' containers by 2014, from the present half a million. There is considerable room for growth and the tender for the service area is one way of meeting the growing interest in KBSP.
