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The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities inaugurated, on 8 May 2022, the first multi-storey car park building along the Pearling Path site project, which is registered on the World Heritage List in the city of Muharraq. The ceremony was held in the presence of H.E Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, President of the Culture Authority, His Excellency Eng. Essam Khalaf, Minister of Works And Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, Mr. Ghazi Al-Murbati, Chairman of the Muharraq Municipal Council, His Excellency Brigadier Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Jeeran, Deputy Governor of Muharraq Governorate, in addition to a diplomatic presence and the presence of cultural figures and representatives of the media.

Speaking on the occasion, H.E Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa said: "We are pleased to see the dreams of a city in the ancient Muharraq turning into a reality. Today, we inaugurate the first car parking lots that will serve visitors and residents of the Pearling Path site, which is registered on the World Heritage List, and will certainly enhance the city's infrastructure." H.E added to say: “We have deployed strenuous efforts in order to implement this part of the Pearling Path project, communication and cooperation with various parties to accomplish this multi-storey car park that will serve as an outlet for the city of Muharraq, facing many challenges related to overcrowding and traffic congestion.”

In addition, H.E said that the Pearling Path site project is one of the most important infrastructure enhancement projects in Bahrain, that BACA aims, by its implementation, to revive the historical sites in the city of Muharraq, develop and upgrade residential neighborhoods. Indeed, Culture Authority’s objective is to help the return of many Bahrainis to their lovely city and provide a cultural destination that attracts visitors from inside and outside Bahrain and stands as a unique cultural tourism destination.

The multi-storey car park is the latest project of the Culture Authority on the Pearling Path in Muharraq, and the project consists of four buildings distributed along the path. The building, which was opened, accommodates about 130 cars and consists of a ground floor and a first floor. These are four multi-storey car parks designed by Christian Kerez, in cooperation with Arsinals Engineering and implemented by the main building contractor, Mohammed Abdulmohsin Al-Kharafi & Sons Company.

The construction of the remaining three parking lots is scheduled to be completed between the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. The second multi-storey parking building is located near the Bin Matar House and the Green Corner. In fact, the parking is the largest and will be completed by the end of this year, while the third parking building is located near Amarat Fakhro, south of the Pearling Path site, while the last parking building will be opposite at the Al Alawi House, near Al Jalahma House.

The four new parking structures are part of the Pearl Path Project, which entails creating new public spaces within the dense urban fabric of Muharraq to accompany the preservation and restoration of the built heritage. Adapted to their respective sites, the four projects follow the same architectural concept, where slabs change from concave to convex, touching each other and creating a continuous spatial transition. The multistorey parking is designed to serve as public spaces, with its aesthetic open spaces that add new and attractive features to the old city. Each floor of the new parking lot has a different shape and design, as cars pass at different heights and slopes, giving each floor a special character that is easy to identify. The architects of the project designed each floor of the new parking lots in a distinctive way, and the focus was on the communication element in the design, so that the floor of each floor aligns with the slopes connecting them, to reflect the cultural elements and the ancient heritage along the Pearling Path site.