My responsibility is mainly to revive the project back to full glory and turn the company into a long-term , sustainable revenue-generating business .”

The path for Bahrain Bay Development has not always been smooth , which is why Gagan Suri was drafted in three years ago to tackle those issues . Educated in India , America , and Canada , Suri trained in hospitality until realising that was not what he wanted longterm . After acquiring an MBA , he tried his hand at various financial roles before dipping into the construction and real estate industry .

In his role at Arcapita , a large private equity real estate business , Suri took on Bahrain Bay as one of his first portfolio companies , and discovered its development had stagnated . He was asked to take over the business temporarily as interim CEO , and the role swiftly became permanent . “ Three years in , we have made significant progress ,” he says . “ This is one of the largest developments in Bahrain . It ’ s shining now ; it ’ s doing well . It ’ s becoming the focal point of the whole country . We ’ re proud of our achievements and we have a lot more to look forward to the next two-to-three years .”

The stumbling blocks for the business have come in the form of slumps in the market . Construction on Bahrain Bay began a decade ago , but with financial problems plaguing the company , it lay dormant by the time Suri became aware of it .

“ You see , it was built at the peak of the market , where signs were good and money was flowing ,” he explains . “ 65 % of the plots were sold at the beginning . Then the slumps happened which caused everything to slow down .

134 December 2017