Riffa Views: Ready to commence the main villa handover phase

Riffa Views hosted a special visit for members of the local media to showcase the progress and milestones achieved at the luxury residential development. The media delegation was welcomed by Riffa Views’ CEO, Alfredo Laffitte, along with members of the Riffa Views’ team.

The media guests viewed the site where 138 villas, in the Lagoons, Oasis and Park Estates, are now complete and will soon be handed over to homeowners as the main villa handover phase commences. To ensure an efficient handover process and to guarantee the sustainability of the community that will soon be residing in Riffa Views, key elements of the development’s infrastructure are now complete and operational.

Construction work at Riffa Views’ continues to make progress with 75 per cent of the development’s infrastructure completed, including 90 percent of the road network which comprises 18 km of roads. Following the recent switch on of the permanent power supply to the world-class golf facilities, supply of potable water to the entire development will also be secured before the main villa handover phase takes place.

Alfredo Laffitte, CEO of Riffa Views commented: “The local media have greatly assisted in the overall success of Riffa Views. They have seen the development evolve since its inception and we are proud to share with them the milestones that have been achieved to date. We are now about to commence the most important stage of the project as we have in our possession a substantial amount of villas ready to be handed over to the homeowners and the development will soon be lived in and come to life.”

The media guests also enjoyed a private tour of the Royal Golf Club’s 9-hole, par 3 academy golf course, “The Wee Monty”. This short course is a scaled down version of the Riffa Views’ Championship golf course, both courses have been designed by international golfing legend, Colin Montgomerie. The delegation also visited Riffa Views’ world-class golf facilities and toured the Clubhouse which features a lounge for exclusive use by members of the golf club, a large brasserie style restaurant, Links, and Repartee, the acclaimed signature restaurant that will offer a formal dining experience to visitors.

The Clubhouse and Country Club facilities will be officially handed over from Riffa Views to the Royal Golf Club at the end of September and soon after these state-of-the-art facilities will be open to welcome homeowners, members of the golf club and the general public.

Beardshaw Adds International Expertise on Return Visit to RVBIGS 09

Chris Beardshaw, award winning garden designer and Riffa Views’ Landscape and Gardens Ambassador, is back in Bahrain to add international expertise to the Riffa Views Bahrain International Garden Show 2009 (RVBIGS 09) during his visit as Ambassador to the Show for the second consecutive year.

Chris arrived last Wednesday to oversee the final details of the set-up for the Riffa Views Eden Challenge Exhibits Stand. He will be attending all three days of the Show, with the aim of sharing his wide-ranging skills and experience alongside the many features that RVBIGS has to offer this year’s visitors.

Commenting as he toured the many stands on display at RVBIGS 09, he said “I am very enthused each time I return to Bahrain and see the progress that the Show is making. This time of the year sees the start of the major international garden and lifestyle show season and RVBIGS is ideally placed to continue to move forward and attain its aim of excelling on the international stage.”

Chris has been a driving force in the development of the Eden Challenge competition and is the Chairman of the Riffa Views Eden Challenge Adjudicating Panel that previously judged the four category winners, whose models have been built up as real life exhibits and are displayed on the Riffa Views Eden Challenge Exhibits Stand. With inputs from a number of areas, including the media’s rating, Chris along with Shaikha Maram bint Isa Al-Khalifa, Director of the BIGS Organising Committee, will judge and decide the 2009 Eden Challenge Overall Winning School.

Beardshaw sees the Eden Challenge competition as a very important element in the education of Bahrain’s younger generation, allowing them a greater understanding of and active involvement in their environment. Whilst the announcement will focus on the competition’s Overall Winner, he is keen to recognize all the schools who participated, “It is of particular importance to me that the efforts and skills of all students engaging with the Eden Challenge are celebrated, since these illustrate the extraordinary focus and talents of a generation on which there are increasing demands and expectations.”

The 2009 Eden Challenge Overall Winning School will be announced by Chris and Shaikha Maram on the Riffa Views Eden Challenge Exhibits Stand at 12 noon today – Saturday 18th of April. Students from all four category winning schools that are vying for the overall prize will be on the Stand for the announcement and are all very excited by the prospect of their school being awarded the top prize. The Overall Winning School will receive a cash prize of BD3,000 towards the school’s environmental resources and activities.

Following the announcement of the Overall Winning School, again on the Eden Challenge Exhibits Stand, Chris Beardshaw and Shaikha Maram will announce the winner of the Riffa Views’ award for ‘The Best Stand of RVBIGS 09’, together with the two runners-up. This award was introduced by Riffa Views at RVBIGS 2007, their first Show as Title Sponsor, with the aim of encouraging the exhibitors to strive each year for better stand designs and content. It is an initiative that has certainly worked as the standard of the Show’s exhibits has improved significantly and the award is very sought after by all exhibitors. In addition to the prestigious title of ‘Best Stand of RVBIGS 09’, the winning exhibitor will also receive a cash prize of USD5,000, with the 1st and 2nd runners-up exhibitors receiving cash prizes of USD3,000 and USD2,000 respectively
For Chris Beardshaw, the Bahrain International Garden Show has become an important and enjoyable focus for his undoubted talents. As he comments, “I have the good fortune to be involved in some of the top international garden and lifestyle exhibitions and shows around the world – after my visit to RVBIGS, I travel onto Japan for the Japanese International Garden Show and then back to the UK for the Chelsea Flower Show. All of these Shows are exceptional in their own right and RVBIGS is no different. I feel privileged to have an involvement with the Riffa Views Bahrain International Garden Show, a unique exhibition and demonstration of the most focused and relevant individuals and businesses in this field of expertise.”

Eden Challenge registration to close soon

The closing date for schools to register for the Riffa Views Eden Challenge 2009 schools’ competition is fast approaching. All completed registration forms need to be received by Riffa Views Signature Estates on or before 23rd October to enable schools to enter the Eden Challenge 2009, created by Riffa Views to inspire, educate and encourage the children of Bahrain to understand their natural surroundings.
All schools have received Riffa Views Eden Challenge School Registration Packs containing a registration form and a copy of ‘The Eden Challenge Story Book’, a pictorial journey through the successful Eden Challenge 2008.

For the schools that have already registered for the Eden Challenge 2009, that is great news for them and the children who will get to learn and interact with their environment in this fun and educational competition. They can look forward to receiving the Riffa Views Eden Challenge 2009 Schools Pack, which contains full details about the competition and the great experience and prizes that are on offer to the participating schools.

To those schools that have not yet registered, the message has to be one of ‘don’t delay, get your registration form in as soon as possible and make sure that your children get to enjoy the full benefits of the Eden Challenge’. The Riffa Views Eden Challenge 2009 challenges schools to complete projects that make the children think about, understand and appreciate important elements of the environment in which they live – the feedback from everyone involved in Eden Challenge 2008 including the children, the schools and the educators was overwhelmingly positive and it would be unfortunate for anyone to miss out with Eden Challenge 2009.

As last year, the Riffa Views Eden Challenge 2009 has been made open to all schools in Bahrain, whether they be local or international, whether government or private, across four age categories that range from 6 through to 18 years of age, with each category having a slightly different project focus – Junior Primary (6-9 years) – water sculpture or model; Primary (10-12 years) – water mosaic artwork; Intermediate (13-15 years) – water ‘power generating’ mobile; and Secondary (16-18 years) – water conscious garden; with one entry allowed per school per category.

Full details of the Riffa Views Eden Challenge 2009 can be found in the special Eden Challenge 2009 sections of the Riffa Views Signature Estates’ website – riffaviews.com/eden – and the Riffa Views Bahrain International Garden Show 2009 site – www.bigs.com.bh. Alternatively, schools can contact Riffa Views directly – Abeer Abdullatif on 1775 7999 or 3960 2662, email – aabdullatif@riffaviews.com.

Remember, closing date for registration is 23rd October – it’s not too late to register, so don’t delay and give the children a chance to enjoy the real fun of the Riffa Views Eden Challenge 2009.

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