Industry in Bahrain: Targeting 25% of the GDP

Salah Janahi, Director of Industrial Areas Directorate at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, talks about the industry in Bahrain.

30 years ago Bahrain realised that the oil industry is not the future for Bahrain, but instead the future lies in industry and the diversification of all sectors. That is why Bahrain has focused on industry, which now contributes 17% to the GDP, and The Ministry of Industry and Commerce  is planning to increase this to 25% in the coming years.

Janahi adds, “Therefore over the last 30 years the focus has been on industry. Currently we have 8 industrial areas which cover an area of 22 million m2 in different areas of Bahrain. The most recent industrial area is Salman Industrial City, which was inaugurated by his Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in January 2010. The size of this industrial area is 12 million m2 and it comprises of three areas: the oldest zone known as Hidd Industrial Area (established in the 1960s) and the 2 newer areas known as Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP) (established in 2005) and Bahrain Investment Wharf, which is of public and private ownership; the government rented the land to the private sector to develop and reclaim it. This industrial area contains all kinds of investments including industrial activities and other related services.”

Gerry Sharkey,  Project Director at BIIP (Bahrain International Investment Park), agrees with Jahahi, “Bahrain would like to have a significant portion of its business in the non-oil and gas areas. I think this park has proven to be a success so we would like to see the opportunity to replicate this again here in Bahrain. The difficulty as you have heard is the land issue. We have made an application to our Minister, hopefully we will be able to get a second phase development somewhere on the island, either directly, or on reclaimed land..”