By BASMA MOHAMMED

MANAMA

THE fate of a Cabinet-approved BD13 million township for labourers has been awaiting a ministry green light for over two years, according to developers. Work on Al Enma’a House’s Labour Township project in Hidd was scheduled to begin in October 2006 and completed within 20 months.

The project can accommodate more than 10,000 labourers in a healthy, fully-equipped services accommodation, say developers.

It features 13 buildings for labourers and six for technicians and expatriates in other professions.

The township also features a cafeteria, medical centre, restaurants, a cinema complex, bank branches and supermarkets as well as a sports field for cricket or football.

Developers say that the project was the ideal solution to a number of problems raised by Bahrain’s municipal councils.

Earlier this month, the five municipal councils agreed to urge the government to come up with a time frame for companies to provide proper labour camps for their workers.

They are also planning to meet MPs and Labour Ministry officials for the setting up of labour towns in every Governorate.

The move follows complaints from families, who say that labourers staying in residential areas were behind various cases of sexual assaults against minors and other crimes.

Migrant workers’ rights groups have also been complaining that many labourers were living in inhumane and hazardous conditions.

Developers claim that despite being approved by the Cabinet and a string of meetings with the Industry and Commerce Ministry, the project is yet to receive the final green light.

“In February 2006, we sent a request to the Commerce and Industry Ministry for a project proposal after learning they have allocated land in Hidd for a similar project,” said Al Enma’a House Real Estate Investment and Studies manager Hisham Zaman.

The ministry later requested a formal request to obtain land for the project from the company, which was sent to them in March that same year, he added.

“Then we gave a detailed presentation on the project to the ministry following their request in June,” said Mr Zaman.

After the approval of the project by the Cabinet in October, 2006, a meeting was held with the ministry and it was decided to prepare agreement documents within 40 days.

“They requested we send a proposed agreement because this project is of a residential nature and the ministry said they didn’t have an agreement for such projects,” said Mr Zaman.

In early 2007, Al Enma’a and ministry representatives met to finalise the agreement and decided that it should be ready for signing in February, he added.

They also agreed the project will cover an area of 67,000 sqm and the rent for each sqm is BD1.

“On February 27, 2007, we got the agreement proposal, on March we sent some notes about it to the ministry, and by April the final proposal was sent to the ministry after both parties checked it,” said Mr Zaman.

However, the ministry in May informed the developers that part of the project’s land had been allocated to the Electricity and Water Authority to build a power station.

“We then met the Electricity and Water Authority officials, who told us the ministry had allocated the area following their request,” said Mr Zaman.

In July, the company sent a letter explaining what had happened since February 2006 to the Premier’s Court, he said.

“Finally, in September, 2007, the final proposal for the agreement was reached and we were promised to be given the go-ahead soon,” said Mr Zaman.

“Then early last year, upon our request, we met ministry officials to speed up the procedures and later sent a letter to the Premier’s Court on the latest news.”

“However, since February last year, the company has not received anything to indicate the agreement is finalised and we cannot start the project without it.

“When the agreement is signed by the ministry, then the land is handed over to us to start construction.”

He said that each room in the township’s buildings accommodate up to four people.

The project was the brainchild of Al Enma’a House chief executive officer Dr Manaf Y Hamza.

“I had visited a labour camp in Riffa and it gave me the idea to build this township to serve the expatriate community and give labourers a decent place to stay,” said Dr Hamza.

He said the project was the talk of the country when they first unveiled it in a properties exhibition in 2006.

“Everyone was excited and we too felt that this project will benefit everyone a lot,” said Dr Hamza.

He said the company was disappointed with the ministry’s way of handling a project, which he said could be the answer to a problem that has been worrying people for years.

“We read in the newspapers every day about complaints against labour camps. Some die because these accommodations are unfit for people, some collapse or are gutted by fire due to the lack of safety measures,” said Dr Hamza.

Company chief financial officer Krishnan Iyer said that if the project finally gets the go-ahead it would cost more than it was estimated in 2006.

“Building materials are more expensive than they were two years ago, but we don’t want to give up,” he said.

Mr Iyer said that if the ministry did not come up with an agreement soon, they were considering looking for land elsewhere for the project.

“We will look for a land with a location and price that suits the project, without it costing companies more in rental fees,” he said.

Criticism

Mr Iyer said the project at first received some criticism from people, who said that isolating labourers from residential areas was an act of racism.

“We are not trying to build a ghetto here, we are building something better for the labourers,” he said.

“We have discussed this project with the Migrant Workers Group and the Indian and the Bangladeshi embassies, who were very appreciative and supportive.”

An Industry and Commerce Ministry spokesman said that that project didn’t receive the final approval because it violated article 24 of the law governing industrial areas, but would not comment further.

Legal sources said that the article bans labour accommodation in industrial areas.

“However, an industrial areas affairs committee can exclude some projects in special circumstances to build labour accommodations,” they said.

“If the owner does not like the decision of the committee, he can file a complaint at the Industry and Commerce Ministry.