Bahrain's municipalities have issued 4,402 building permits during the first five months of the year.

This was stated by Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Minister Dr Juma Al Ka'abi yesterday as he highlighted achievements of the five municipal councils in the kingdom, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

He said this reflects the speedy course of urban development and the confidence in Bahrain's investment climate.

Dr Al Ka'abi said the Central Municipality issued 1,410 permits followed by the Northern Municipality, which issued 437 permits and the Southern Municipality 358.

He said that the permits have added 1,396,159 sqm of space in the various governorates.

Dr Al Ka'abi said the ministry is keen to support the urban development and issue building permits according to the classification of the areas.

He said the municipalities had taken a series of measures aimed at facilitating investors' access to services, including electronic connectivity, delivery and receiving of building permits in digital form, as well as the application of quality systems and promoting investment surveys to gauge investors' satisfaction.-TradeArabia News Service