Bahrain sees big surge in construction licences
MANAMA, October 7, 2016
Bahrain's government has reported a big surge in the number of construction licences granted over the past nine months, according to a report.
The municipal authorities said a total of 817 permits have been issued since January, up from 570 over the same period, reported the BNA.
The overall municipal fees levied on issued construction permits more than doubled in over the first nine months of 2016 to exceed BD2 million ($5.26 million), up from BD900,000 ($2.37 million).
The estimated cost of these construction projects is BD1.35 billion ($3.55 billion), up from BD567 million ($1.49 billion) last year, stated the report.
Once completed, the investment projects will cover around 4.9 million sq m, compared with 2 million sq m over the same period in 2015, it added.
The updated statistics were released as Deputy Premier Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa visited the Comprehensive Municipal Council.
The Deputy Premier, also Head of the Ministerial Committee for Construction and Infrastructure, was accompanied by Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Essam bin Abdulla Khalaf.
Lauding the kingdom's wise leadership, Shaikh Khalid said: "The surge in the overall number of construction permits over the past nine years reflects Bahrain’s administrative and technical preparedness for mega investment projects," he said.
He later inaugurated the new-look electronic system which was designed to fast-track the processing of the applications for construction permits.
