Bahrain’s economy is expected to grow at four to five per cent despite the unrest and global developments, said a senior government official.

The parliament’s financial and economic affairs committee is currently reviewing the draft of the state budget for 2013-2014, chairperson Latifa Al Gaoud was quoted as saying in a report by our sister publication the Gulf Daily News.

Al Gaoud described the budget as the largest in Bahrain’s history. She pledged consensus between parliament blocs to increase pension as well as wages of workers in public and private sectors.

She said the draft budget showed an increase in revenue and expenditure compared to the budget of the last two years, based on an estimated oil price of $88 and $99 per barrel for the two years.

It also allocated BD150 million ($392 million) to support low-income families. The amount approved for construction projects dropped from BD1.335 billion in the past two years to BD1.085 billion, because of the GCC’s financial aid to Bahrain as well as balance funds from the previous budget, she said.
The country also expects a budget deficit of BD1.769 billion. – TradeArabia News Service