OREANDA-NEWS. Ithmaar Development Company (IDC) announced the signing of an agreement with a major design consultancy firm, Dar Al- Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners), to design the Dilmunia Gateway Bridge (DGB). The bridge will be located on the west entrance, connecting Dilmunia island to the mainland.

The agreement was signed between IDC Chief Executive and Member of the Board, Mohammed Khalil Alsayed and Dar AI-Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners) Director of Operations of UAE, Bahrain and Oman, Bassam Shakhshir.

The Dilmunia Gateway Bridge (DGB) will be a unique structure compatible with the architectural theme of the Island. The Bridge will blend well with the spirit of Dilmunia, and will be visually prominent in its settings, differentiating Dilmunia from other projects. The Bridge will be designed at a high standard to be an aesthetically appealing landmark in Kingdom of Bahrain.

“I am pleased to welcome Dar Al-Handasah Consultants to work with us on this main key feature of our development,” said Alsayed. “We are confident that the bridge design shall ensure the objectives of aesthetics, traffic and utility crossings, while maintaining the constraints of cost effectiveness and life span durability. This, we believe, will further enhance the identity of Dilmunia Island,” he said.

“We are delighted to sign the consultancy agreement; this milestone marks the commencement of our services by initiating the design process after succeeding in winning the Consultancy Services,” said Shakhshir. “Our target is to provide IDC with a high quality service to ensure the fulfilment of their objective by developing a futuristic landmark that will stand out to be the signature identity of Dilmunia island,” he said.

The USD 1.6 billion Dilmunia Project is a mixed-use development built on a man-made island off the coast of Muharraq with a unique health and wellness anchor including residences, hotels and leisure and shopping districts anchored around a health and wellness cluster.

The development of the ambitious 125-hectare man-made island is being managed by IDC, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank with its shares traded on both the Bahrain Bourse and the Kuwait Stock Exchange. Ithmaar Bank is also the Investment Manager of Dilmunia Development Fund.

About Ithmaar Development Company:

Ithmaar Development Company (IDC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ithmaar Bank BSC and acts as its developer and manager of major real estate projects spanning residential, commercial, hospitality, wellness/healthcare facilities, and infrastructure sub-sectors.

About Ithmaar Bank:

Ithmaar Bank B.S.C. (stock code “ITHMR”) is a Bahrain-based licensed Islamic retail bank that is regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain and provides retail, commercial, treasury & financial institutions and other banking services. Ithmaar Bank is a subsidiary of Dar Al-Maal Al-Islami Trust (DMI), and has a paid-up capital of US$757.69 million, total shareholders’ equity of US$478.6 million (as at 30 September 2015) and is listed on the Bahrain Bourse and the Kuwait Stock Exchange. Ithmaar Bank provides a diverse range of Sharia-compliant products and services that cater to the financing and investment needs of individuals and institutions. Ithmaar also maintains a presence in overseas markets through its subsidiaries, associated and affiliated companies. These include Faysal Bank Limited (Pakistan), Faisal Private Bureau (Switzerland), Bahrainbased BBK, Ithmaar Development Company Limited, Solidarity (an Islamic insurance company), Naseej and Ithraa Capital (Saudi Arabia).

About Dar Al-Handasah (DAR)

Dar Al Handasah Consultants (Shair & Partners) is one of the world’s leading consultancies specializing in engineering, architecture, planning, environment, project and construction management, and economics, founded in 1956. Its principal design head offices and technical support facilities are located in Beirut Lebanon; Cairo, Egypt; London, UK; Pune, India; and Amman, Jordan; with a network of 40 permanent local branch offices throughout the Middle East, Africa, Central-Eastern Europe, CIS and Asia. Dar has provided consultancy services to more than 950 clients in 60 countries, and has handled projects involving a total investment cost of over US$ 290 billion (excluding planning projects). Dar has been active in the GCC countries since 1957 and in the Kingdom of Bahrain since 1978, where they have maintained a permanent office in Manama.