Call for demolition of “unsafe” Moon Plaza Hotel amid government claims that it is sound.
Independent experts are set to be brought in to assess the condition of one of Bahrain’s best-known hotels amid claims it allegedly poses a danger to the public.
The Manama Municipal Council claims the Moon Plaza Hotel in Umm Al Hassam is in such bad condition that it should be demolished.
The Manama Municipality last week presented councillors with the copy of an assessment by a group of senior government engineers, stating the hotel had a “sound architectural structure” and was only in need of repairs. It came after the council rejected a report submitted by a municipality inspector in August, who stated visible surface cracks had not affected its overall safety.
Manama councillors now want three specialist companies to be brought in to independently assess the hotel and have agreed to accept whatever they conclude.
Council vice-chairman Mohammed Mansoor said the safety of people was paramount. “For any regular individual and not an engineer, it is easy to notice that the hotel is dangerous and I don’t know why the government is insisting that it is sound,” he said. “This is a 50-year-old hotel and not a new building done with new building materials and the most it could stand without parts falling apart would be up to a maximum of three years.”
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