The proposed $750m Al Areen Desert Spa & Resort is a step closer to reality after the appointment of the Erga Group as the project’s masterplanner.

Lebanon-based Erga will produce an initial concept, design a masterplan and organise the tendering process for the resort, as well as being in charge of site supervision as construction work gets underway.

Al Areen Desert Spa & Resort Holding Company (ADHC) announced the appointment of Erga on 17 January and expects detailed plans of the resort to be completed by summer.

The resort will be built on a 2 million sq m area in southern Bahrain and will include a $50m spa, themed residential communities, hotels and the country’s first water park.

Elie Gebrayel, managing director of Erga, said: “Al Areen is inspired by innovation and promises to be a unique resort for the Middle East. We are keen to commence work on a venture of such an impressive scale.”

The Al Areen project was officially launched in January 2004. Three months later, in April, the scheme received government backing when Bahrain’s ministry of finance helped set up the holding company for the project with an issued capital of $128m.

The holding company is led by investment banker Gulf Finance House, which has previously worked on projects such as the $3.8bn mixed-use Legends in Dubailand and Menajet, the region’s low cost airline.