The current headquarters of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) may soon be demolished to make way for a multi-storey building.

BCCI chairman Dr Essam Abdullah Fakhro on Sunday unveiled plans for the 50-storey premises.

The project will be built on a plot of 4,598 sq m at an estimated cost of BD50 million ($132.6 million).

'It promises to rank high among the top real estate investment projects in Bahrain,' Dr Fakhro said.

He also announced that the new BCCI headquarters would be opened soon. 'The new state of the art premises would epitomise the increasingly influential role of the private sector as the engine of Bahrain's national economy,' he said.

He also invited financial and real estate companies to invest in the project on the basis of build-operate-transfer (BOT) formula.

BCCI board member and deputy treasurer Sager Shaheen said bids for the project would be invited soon.

Companies and financial institutions can obtain project benchmarks from the BCCI.

They can submit offers before the end of the month, enclosing initial artist's impression and other details.

Inaugurated in April 1980, the current BCCI headquarters boast of a highly strategic location among booming landmark financial institutions.

'The BCCI has opted for the BOT formula out of keenness to engage leading financial and investments powerhouses,' said Shaheen.

'Such projects are also in vogue in the GCC and Middle East region witnessing an unprecedented construction and investment boom.

He presided over a committee in charge of following up the project.

The panel includes BCCI members Jawad Al Hawaj, Adel Mohammed Matar and Sharif Mohammed Ahmadi. - TradeArabia News Service