Ground was broken yesterday marking the start of above ground construction works on Marassi Galleria, the centrepiece of Marassi Al Bahrain, a $3 billion mixed-use mega project.

A 230,000sqm shopping and entertainment centre with 116,000sqm of leasable area, Marassi Galleria will host five interconnected lifestyle urban districts, each with a theme tailored to a specific customer taste: the high-street, the family plaza, a waterfront dining promenade, the rooftop and the luxury courtyard. Highlights include a multi-screen cinema, an ice skating rink and an aquarium. The mall will also be linked to two luxury hotels and serviced residences projects operated by The Address Hotels + Resorts and Vida Hotels and Resorts, both of which are UAE-based. Situated on the eastern shores of the Diyar Al Muharraq master-planned island city, Marassi Al Bahrain comprises 1.29 million sqm of built-up space on an 875,000sqm site. Having the same name as the project, Marassi Al Bahrain is a joint venture between UAE-based private real estate investment and development company, Eagle Hills, and Bahraini developer Diyar Al Muharraq. Yesterday’s groundbreaking ceremony was held under the patronage of Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) chairman and Survey and Land Registration Bureau (SLRB) president Shaikh Salman bin Abdulla Al Khalifa with participants including Eagle Hills chairman Mohamed Alabbar and Eagle Hills Diyar managing director Dr Maher Al Shaer.