Authorities have halted plans to spend BD200,000 on an abandoned public park in Manama that has been allegedly used as an underground vice den.

They initially wanted to use government money to overhaul the Al Bawara Public Park, but are now studying proposals by two investors to develop the facility, which is located off Exhibition Avenue in Hoora.

However, councillors have objected to the move, saying investors would destroy the area by building a commercial facility instead.

The Manama Municipality has already cleaned the 3,963sqm park, which was overrun by stray dogs and used for "illegal activities" for nearly 10 years.

Work was supposed to begin last month but has been delayed as the Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Ministry is assessing both bids and the winning investor will be given a 30-year lease.

Area MP Adel Al Asoomi and area councillor Ghazi Al Dossary had earlier put forth ideas to house different sporting facilities in the garden aimed at residents.

The suspended plans include a snooker hall, tennis court, football and basketball pitches, female and male gyms, a swimming pool, children's playground and restaurants.

"We have gone a long way to restore this neglected park back to its original state and when the place gets cleaned for government development work to begin, two greedy investors with cheap proposals to build shops come forward," said Mr Al Dossary.

"I already got petitions from residents that if any of the two investors are awarded the lease then they would stand in front of bulldozers to prevent any work from going ahead.

"Hoora is already full of shops and we don't need more, we just want our park restored."

Mr Al Dossary said the park was originally leased for 20 years to an investor, who turned the facility into a coffee shop serving sheesha under the name "Al Bawara".

Hopeful

"The ministry wanted the facility restored into a park and got rid of the investor as it did with others leasing parks for smoking purposes," he said.

"Smoking is not an issue for residents, but the ministry initially got rid of the sheesha place 10 years ago and now two investors have come up with partial plans to bring the same idea back again."

He said residents were hopeful the place would be given a state-of-the-art facelift, which could be in jeopardy after work was halted.

"In Bahrain, when work gets halted on something then it never starts again. This means the government is happy that it doesn't have to pay anything and that one of the two investors will handle the place," he said. "If this happens then it would be encountered with wrath from residents already keeping a watch on the place