BizBahrain Magazine Sep-Oct 2017

Focus Feature | Real Estate Sector
works on Alba’s Line 6 project began Q2.
The USD3bn project covers an area of
approximately 60 hectares. The funding
for the project is expected to be fully
finalized by the end of Q3 and production
is due to start in 2019.
Bahrain is also attracting a number
of innovative manufacturing companies,
especially into the Bahrain International
Investment Park in Hidd which has
emerged as a key hub for many of these
new investments.
Garmco (Gulf Aluminium Rolling
Mill Company) is completing a USD55mn
capacity expansion which is due
to be fully operational in November
2017. The new facility will increase
Garmco’s annual production capacity of
aluminium slabs by 120,000 tn.
The ground-breaking ceremony for a
USD16mn Armacell facility is expected
to create 140 jobs. The company is a
global leader in in flexible insulation
foams. The new 10,000 sqm facility will
supply Armacell customers across the
GCC and parts of Africa.
Another indicator of the industrial
and manufacturing sector turning into
an engine of growth was the fact the
industrial index on the Bahrain Bourse
improved by 40.8% during the first half
this year in a sharp reversal from a
decline of 19.7% in 2016.
Leisure attractions are also an
important element of Bahrain’s appeal
to outside visitors and an important
growth focus for tourism in the GCC
region with total assets estimated at
some USD52bn. Bahrain Tourism and
Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) reports
for 2016 show a 14 percent increase in
the first half of the year with some 5.6
million tourists having visited. Bahrain
offers a diverse mix of tourist attractions
including a number of cultural and
heritage sites. These include the Bahrain
Fort and the Pearling Trail of Muharraq
- both of which feature on the UNESCO
World Heritage List. The fort alone
currently attracts an annual visitor flow
of nearly 115,000. Other attractions in
this area include Al Fateh Fort, Arad
Fort, Al Khamis Mosque, the Tree of Life,
the Bahrain National Museum, and the
National Theatre.
Additionally, the Al Areen Wildlife
Park & Reserve in the south of the
island draws an annual visitor flow of
nearly 200,000. Adhari Park draws some
800,000 visitors a year. The Lost Paradise
of Dilmun Park and the Wahooo!
Waterpark are also popular attractions.
Gravity, new developments in
Hawar Islands, Diyar Al Muharraq, the
Khalifa bin Salman Port, Al Sahel Resort,
Dilmunia Mall, and the Bahrain Marina
Club are newly developed attractions
that add to the composite package.
With all this, the tourism sector in
Bahrain presents considerable untapped
potential, which has prompted some of
the existing facilities to develop further
expansion plans. In addition, there is
considerable eagerness for additional
indoor family entertainment venues
as well as more cultural experiences.
Saudi visitors account for majority of the
tourists coming to Bahrain, with more
than 80% of Saudi and Bahraini residents
seen as potential users of new offerings.
On the pipeline for the immediate
future is the construction of the King
Hamad Causeway which will add to
the existing King Fahad Causeway,
connecting Bahrain to Saudi Arabia
and serving as a platform for the GCC
railway.
At the recent Cityscape Global
exhibition in Dubai, mixed use projects
of more than US$ 11 billion were
marketed. According to the Ministry of
Housing, demand for housing units in
Bahrain are growing at a rate of 5000
units per year.
Bahrain International Property
Exhibition, (BIPEX) a 3-day event
bringing together major Bahraini
Aggregate value of real estate transactions, BHD
real estate investors, development
companies, financial institutions, legal
institutions and consumers, showcases
projects, and creates a platform in
an open environment. Organized by
Bahrain Society of Engineers (BSE),
the event continues to grow as a direct
result of increased investment projects
among public and private sectors of
the economy, the organizers say. In
last year’s BIPEX event, the exhibition
highlighted real estate assets worth $60
billion, a significant rise from $52 billion
in its previous edition. The 2015 show
attracted more than 7,000 unique visitors
of whom 24% travelled from outside of
Bahrain.
Meanwhile, Bahraini citizens are
awaiting thousands of new properties in
2017 as the government fulfills its pledge
to provide 25,000 new homes by the end
of 2018. The residential units are being
funded by the Ministry of Housing, the
Gulf Development Fund and through
Private-Public partnerships. Developers
are also working with government to
build more affordable housing. Much of
the focus continues however to be on
man made islands driven by the demand
for luxury waterfront homes. Adjacent
to the upmarket Budiaya area, a new
master planned community-Al Madinah
Al Shamaliya or Northern City- built on 13
reclaimed islands will provide 70,000 new
homes in the next 7 years. The country’s
population grew by 543% in the last four
decades from 213,000 in 1970 to around
1.37mn in 2013, figures that no doubt
reflect the rising demand for homes.
Source: Survey and Land Registration Bureau
14 September-October 2017