Bahrain Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in bahrain, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
Select Country Guide
Construction and Infrastructure
Last published date:

Overview

According to Bahrain’s Information and E-Government Authority (IGA), Bahrain’s construction sector grew by 3.3 percent in 2024. As part of Bahrain’s 2021 Economic Recovery Plan, the Bahraini government announced 22 strategic infrastructure projects worth over $30 billion. These projects were planned to be largely funded via public-private partnerships, with some under development and others awaiting funding and partnership proposals. This emphasis on construction is consistent with Bahrain’s Vision 2030 economic development strategy that seeks to diversify Bahrain’s economic base, with broader privatization, industrialization, training, and education of Bahrain’s national workforce, by improving infrastructure, industry, housing, and connectivity.

Large-scale government infrastructure projects have positive spillover effects in supply industries. The government’s major projects include:

  • The $3.5 billion King Hamad Causeway transportation infrastructure project

  • The $2 billion Bahrain Metro Project

  • A new $355 million gas processing plant

  • Major housing and resort projects estimated at $2.2 billion

  • Electricity and water delivery projects estimated at $1.1 billion

  • Road and sewerage infrastructure projects estimated at $900 million

  • The U.S. Trade Zone

  • A number of other current projects focus on education, health, social development, youth, sports, and industry, many of which will be funded by grants received from Bahrain’s wealthier neighbors via the GCC Development Fund or through public-private partnerships.

Leading Sub-sectors

The demand for small housing units for low and medium-income families has increased dramatically in recent years. The Bahraini government is pursuing an ambitious program of developing 40,000 housing units within the next decade. Close to 20,000 units are under construction. The major housing projects are located in Khalifa City, East Hidd City, East Sitra, and the Naseej project in Northern City. The Ministry of Housing has also launched social housing financing programs to support home purchases by Bahraini nationals.

In the private sector, major new freehold real estate projects have been launched in Diyar al Muharraq, Dilmunia and Durrat al Bahrain.

Opportunities

One of the country’s largest projects is Phase Two of the $1.1 billion Bahrain International Airport Modernization Program. Phase One was completed in early 2021 and nearly doubled the airport’s passenger capacity to 14 million passengers a year. A number of U.S. firms have won project management and smaller sub-contracts as part of the overall expansion project. Follow-on phases and new project opportunities include the construction of a maintenance repair and overhaul hanger, a “cargo village” freight handling facility, the refurbishment of the VIP aviation terminal, and, as part of the Bahrain Metro Project, the installation of a passenger station connecting the airport to downtown Manama.

In May 2022, Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications prequalified 11 international and Bahraini companies for Phase One of the $2 billion Bahrain Metro Project. The project is expected to deliver a 68 mile light rail system which carries over 43,000 travelers per hour and includes four separate lines with two interchanges and more than 20 passenger stations. Development timelines for this project are still to be determined.

The King Hamad Causeway is a planned rail and road causeway project connecting Saudi Arabia and Bahrain that will run parallel to the existing 16 mile-long King Fahd Causeway. It will deliver new lanes to support additional passenger and cargo traffic, as well as a rail line to link Bahrain with the planned GCC railway and existing Saudi rail network. Development timelines for this project are also still to be determined.

In January 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce and Bahrain’s then Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism (MoICT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a United States Trade Zone (USTZ) in Bahrain. MoICT selected the USTZ location near Bahrain’s Khalifa bin Salman Port and other industrial and logistics facilities, and within a short distance to Saudi Arabia via the King Fahd Causeway. The Bahraini government and U.S. Embassy laid the ceremonial cornerstone for this project in early 2022. The first phase of the project is complete and open for interested U.S. companies, after which Phases Two and Three will commence with additional land reclamation and construction.

State-owned enterprises continue to build out critical economic infrastructure and heavy industry projects to support hydrocarbon and aluminum production. In 2024, Bahrain’s manufacturing sector registered 4.5 percent growth. In 2022, Aluminum Bahrain (Alba) launched a feasibility study for its Line 7 expansion project, however, in 2024 shifted to instead consider a new replacement line for three of Alba’s original production lines to enhance overall aluminum production efficiency.

Bahrain’s tourism and real estate development strategy extends to medical-tourism projects, such as the construction of the $300 million King Abdullah Medical City Hospital, expected to open in in the near future, and the launch of mixed-use real estate projects at Bahrain Bay, Bahrain Marina Diyar Al Muharraq, and Marassi Al Bahrain. In January 2023, the $66 million King Hamad American Mission Hospital was inaugurated, including a research center in collaboration with Israel’s Sheba Medical Center and a partnership starting in 2024 with the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Other key tourism developments expected to be completed in the near-term include:

• The $120 million Muharraq Water Front Project (Saada), consisting of retail establishments, a marina, entertainment facilities, a 4-star hotel, a multi-story car park, and a traditional souq. Bahrain plans to open passenger ferry service in 2025 between Saada and points in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and vehicle ferry services in the second phase of development.

• The mixed-use Bahrain Marina in Manama, consisting of a five-star hotel and hotel suites, apartments, villas, a shopping mall, entertainment and educational facilities, retail space, and a yacht club with space for 250 boats.

• The multi-million-dollar seafront mixed-use tourism and recreational Bijlaj Al Jazair project in Zallaq, delivering public beach access, food and beverage outlets, entertainment facilities, and hospitality services, as well as a four-star hotel, branded boutique hotels, and residential apartment buildings planned for later phases.

Resources

×

Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

Privacy Program | Information Quality Guidelines | Accessibility