The bidding process to appoint a consultant for the first phase of the proposed Bahrain Expo City in Sakhir has been completed, said a news report.

The Bahrain Exhibition and Convention Authority (BECA), Mumtalakat and private sector investors are funding the project, Industry and Commerce Minister and BECA chairman Dr Hassan Fakhro told our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej.

The winning consultancy firm will advise on infrastructure and main building design as well as costs of the first phase, it added.

The phase one of the project will approximately cost $385 million, with economic viability indicating an annual investment return of nearly 14 per cent, the minister has earlier told the paper.

The final project is expected to be completed within three years, the report added.-TradeArabia News Service