Plans for a BD2m (US$5.3m, €4.1m, £3.2m) Smurf Village attraction in Bahrain have collapsed after the project's key investor pulled out following two years of delays.

Mushroom Villaggio, named after the mushroom-shaped houses the popular children’s characters live in, was approved by Bahrain’s Central Municipal Council in September 2012, but extended delays have frustrated the key backer, leaving the project in tatters.

“We are sad that the investor has decided to pull out despite it being an ambitious project that we were eager, keen and enthusiastic to have,” said council chair Abdulrazzak Al Hattab speaking to Gulf Daily News.

“That project would have been the first of its kind in the region and it had a unique theme and for that I backed it from the first stage, but there was a blackout for some time and feedback stopped, before the bad news."

While the plans are dead and buried for the attraction in Bahrain, the unnamed investor is still reportedly keen to open a Smurfs visitor attraction, though any plans would be in a different Gulf state.

The attraction would have featured 30 Smurf-style houses able to accommodate up to 20 people at a time, a house belonging to Papa Smurf and Gargamel’s castle, with Smurf characters on-hand to interact with visitors. Plans also included a café for parents, a small aquarium, horse stables, climbing area and a souvenir shop.