Aqua Park set for official opening
Originally published in Gulf Times on October 18, 2010
Aqua Park Qatar, the country’s first water-oriented leisure destination, will be officially inaugurated on Wednesday at 6pm, Gulf Times has learnt.
“The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani will perform the opening,” a source said.
Earlier last month, thousands of people swamped the park, after the gates were thrown open as part of a soft opening on September 24.
The park, a 100,000sq m leisure and entertainment complex off Salwa Road, features a giant “wave pool”, a “lazy river”, an “activity pool”, slides complex, a family pool, an exotic village and a “dry” corner in the first phase.
The first phase covers an area of 50,000sq m. Its parking area can accommodate 500 cars. In later phases, more rides and features such as go-carts will be included.
A 1,500sq m pool area will serve children under-10. Water slides range from 14m to 20m in height. They include four main slides.
Another nifty feature at the park is boomerango, a tube ride where people accelerate down a steep chute before travelling high up the opposite wall, experiencing momentary weightlessness, before sliding back down up and over a hump and finishing in a splash pool.
“Services include toilets, changing rooms, restaurants, a coffee shop, and a sports court. Aqua Park Qatar has a capacity of 3,000 visitors,” officials said at the opening.
Gulf Times was the first newspaper to break the news of the water park on December 6, 2009.
Kuwait-based Al Jazeera Entertainment Enterprises Company signed an agreement in December 2009 to manage the park for five years.
Adjacent to the aqua park will be a 300,000sq m resort as well as a shopping complex, currently being built and is expected to be completed by June 2011.
The park will be open from 10am-10pm seven days a week. Fridays are earmarked for families. Tuesdays are set aside for women. Entry per person is QR100 and allows unlimited access to rides. For a family of six, a promotional rate of QR400 is also being offered.
Aqua Park Qatar is located 16km from the Industrial Area roundabout on Salwa Road.
As Published
