Dubai: Marina projects involving 5,000 berths are about to begin in the region as the boating industry continues to expand, an industry expert said.
"The market in the context of the Middle East is still pretty strong compared to other geographic locations such as the Caribbean or the Mediterranean," said Michael Horrigan, Middle East, Europe and Asia's chief executive for Mourjan Marina IGY, the international marina developers.
In an interview at the Dubai International Boat Show, he said that the regional markets of Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar have grown stronger in past two years even during the economic downturn. Currently, each of these markets has two to three marinas under development, Horrigan said.
The marina developer yesterday announced a deal in partnership with Global Real Estate Development Co. (GREDCO) for the development of two marinas as part of the upcoming Marsa Al Seef project in Bahrain.
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The development is scheduled to begin later this year and will include exclusive hotels, dining establishments and retail space at Marsa Al Seef. The staged development of two major marina facilities within the project will cover approximately 26 million square feet of Bahrain's northern coast, building substantial marina upland including yacht clubs as well commercial and residential establishments.
While the plans have been scaled down considerably from regional plans of about 50,000 berths, development continues. Horrigan said that Bahrain and Qatar would see about 1,500 berths each, while Saudi Arabia and the UAE would see about 800 each to begin soon.
"These are much more sensible, well-formulated numbers. The difference now is that everyone is putting solid, well-developed projects that are scrutinized. People are going into them much more methodically. Now, everything is in place as it should be," Horrigan said.
The construction cost of smaller marinas will be about $85 million (Dh312.63 million) each, while the larger ones will be $130 million, according to Horrigan.
Beyond the current development, the total number of berths is about two or three times as much. "Each market can fund only that much at one point."
