Sharjah Al Jazeera Park all set for grand reopening

When the erstwhile Al Jazeera Park reopens to the public in the first quarter of this year, it will feature a first-of-its-kind water theme park, an amusement park, and a park designated for picnics, walking, and other leisure activities. The project, Al Montazah, covers an area of over 126,000 square metres.

Shaikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi at the Press conference held at the site of the Al Montazah project in Sharjah. — KT photos by M. Sajjad

The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) unveiled the project’s details in a press conference at the site of the Al Montazah project in the presence of Shaikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Shurooq; Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of Shurooq; Duarte Marques, founder of Amusement White Water (AWW) -— a partner and construction contractor of Al Montazah; and a number of prominent figures and media representatives.

Shaikha Bodour said Shurooq works in line with the directives of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, to develop and improve the Emirate’s economic, social, and tourist assets.

She said Shurooq is currently embarking on a range of new projects to further develop tourist attractions in the Emirate.

Duarte Marques thanked Shaikha Bodour and Shurooq for putting their trust in AWW and their continued support, saying, “The purpose of this joint venture is to create an amusement and water park providing world class facilities that caters to the people of Sharjah. The brief from Shurooq was that we should maintain green areas, consider the history of the old Al Jazeera Park and respect the culture and heritage of Sharjah providing families with a safe and friendly environment to enjoy.

“Although we faced numerous challenges during construction as we had to take an existing park on an island and turn it into a world-class family destination, we managed to overcome all obstacles with the help of Shurooq. This is just a start and we understand that we will have to make various changes to improve our guests’ experience in Al Montazah once the park opens.”

Unveiling the project’s details, Al Sarkal said, “Al Montazah, which covers an area of 126,000 square meters and is situated on an island within Khalid Lagoon, will help stimulate the tourism sector in Sharjah, and is expected to draw more than one million visitors during the first year after inauguration.”

He stressed the project’s “full readiness” to receive the expected number of visitors and meet their needs, provide parking slots and transportation necessary to ensure smooth and easy access to Al Montazah. “Al Montazah has the capacity to receive around 3 million visitors a year and we expect the number of visitors will increase considerably over the next few years.”

Al Montazah boasts of three main sections, the first of which is the water park covering an area of 26,000 square metres, offering a wide range of aquatic amusement games that suit all ages. Safety services will be provided with safety and rescue staff permanently on hand.

The water park includes wide green spaces for holiday makers to enjoy and relax. It will also boast restaurants and other facilities.

The second section is a green park for picnics and events, spread over an area of 50,000 square metres. It will include wide green spaces and venues dedicated to hosting entertainment and social events, and a number of world-class restaurants, cafes, a lake for boating, and a mosque.

The third section is a leisure park that also covers an area of 50,000 square metres, offering a variety of electronic games for all ages. The leisure park will also include kart racing (Karting) for children and young people, two mini football playgrounds, special areas for sports and a venue for celebrations.

Al Sarkal noted that all service-related facilities will be available for visitors, including ATMs, parking lots, a medical clinic and highly qualified rescue teams and skilled paramedics. He urged investors, who will benefit from the expected tourism growth in Sharjah, to participate in the project by leasing spaces and areas dedicated to restaurants, cafes, and kiosks.

Al Montazah will be open to the public from 10am to 11pm, from Saturday to Wednesday, and from 10am to 1am on Thursday and Friday. The water park will be open from 10am to 6pm.

Entry tickets to the park will be Dh10, and free for children who are less than 80cm tall, while ticket prices for some games range between Dh10-25. The entry ticket to the water park is Dh120 for adults and Dh75 for children between 80-120cm tall, and entry is free for children under 80cm. Tickets for the water park includes the entry fee to Al Montazah Park.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com