A 100-metre band to protect the coastline of Tubli Bay in Kingdom of Bahrain from development has been halved, in a U-turn by councillors.

Central Municipal Council members have insisted for the past 17 months that no development would be allowed within the 100m band around the bay.

But yesterday they changed their minds, saying Bahrain could not afford to buy up the private land needed to enforce the ban.

They reversed their earlier decision and halved the no-build band to 50m, which they said would cost the government about BD10 million to secure.

A Royal decree, issued in August 2006, determines the bayss size as 13.5 sq km.

Under United Nations recommendations, development should be away from public coastlines by at least 100m.

In June last year, councillors halted Dadabhai Group's BD20m waterfront housing and development project because it would be within the 100m band. They may now give the scheme a belated go-ahead.

"Whether it is 100 or 50m, there is enough space to have a coast for the public, taking into consideration the zigzagged shape the bay is in," said council technical committee chairman Radhi Amman.

"The previous 100m were very difficult, considering that we have to buy private land, which we don't have enough budget for.

"Having a public beach is better than having nothing, considering that current owners wouldn't sell, instead preferring to keep it unused."-TradeArabia News Service