Consultancy Services Agreement for New Exhibition and Conference Center Signed in Bahrain

Press release

Published November 22nd, 2017 - 06:12 GMT

During the event

The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, His Excellency Mr. Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, attended today the signing ceremony appointing Tilke to provide consultancy services for the new exhibition and conference center that will be located in Sakhir.

The agreement was signed by the Minister of Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning His Excellency Engineer Essam bin Abdulla Khalaf representing the Government of Bahrain, His Excellency Shaikh Khalid bin Humood Al Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority and Mr. Hermann Tilke, representing the project's consulting firm.

HE Mr Zayed Bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism said that the project is one of the leading projects to attract and develop the international exhibitions industry in the Kingdom, according to the latest technologies and technical specifications that will further drive the growth of this robust sector in the Kingdom.

Engineer Essam bin Abdullah Khalaf, Minister of Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning said that the project will be built on a land area of about 308 thousand square meters next to the Bahrain International Circuit, with a built-up area of 149 thousand square meters. The exhibition center will include 10 exhibition halls with a total area of 95 thousand square meters and includes all the necessary services in addition to areas dedicated for retail and events.

The conference center will include a 4500 square meter conference hall which can be divided into three separate halls equipped with state-of-the-art display and technical services. It will also includes 27 small and medium conference and meeting rooms with a total area of about 1,700 square meters.

The signing ceremony was attended by representatives from the Ministry for Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning including Undersecretary Eng. Ahmed Abdulaziz Al Khayat, Assistant Undersecretary for Joint Municipal Services and Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Construction and Maintenance Projects Eng. Raed Mohammed Al Salah as well as the Director of Strategic Projects Shaikh Mishal bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.

Background Information

Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BETA)

Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority was established in 2015 under the Royal Decree number (76) for the year 2015 issued by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain. Whereas the first clause of the Decree number (10) stated that an authority should be established under the supervision of the Council of Ministers

In 2015, BTEA started its operations under the Decree number (9) for the year 2015 to append the Tourism Affairs to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce based on the recommendation of HRH Prime Minister and under the law number (62) of the year 2016 to establish and regulate the Bahrain Exhibition and Convention Authority (BECA) and the Decree number (1) for the year 1985 to establish a Supreme Council for Tourism, and the law number (15) for the year 1986 to regulate the Tourism sector amended by a Law by Decree number (12) for the year 1994.