The Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr Hassan Abdullah Fakhro said that the contribution of the industrial sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) soared from nine per cent from 2009 to 17 per cent in 2010.
“We hope to bring the contribution of the industrial sector to Bahrain’s GDP to 25% in the foreseeable future”, he said.
A new industrial city could be built in the east of the Kingdom of Bahrain. “The location of the planned mega project hasn’t been demarcated yet as it requires a large area”, Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Abdulla Fakhro said.
In a statement posted by the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) the Minister said that the new industrial city could be constructed on land reclaimed from the sea in the east of Bahrain.
Dr. Fakhro warned that the areas earmarked for mega industrial zones could be exhausted within one to two years, unless new land plots are reclaimed.
He also pointed out that the feasibility study of the project would be four-phased.
Under the first stage, the basic needs have been defined and submitted to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and other senior officials. Other feasibility studies would be conducted.
According to the minister, the rate of occupancy in the existing industrial zones is “very high”. “Limited areas are still unoccupied, including 23 per cent in the Bahrain Investment Zone.
Citing updated figures, he said that loans granted to the industrial sectors over the last six months had grown by up to 25% to top BD508.4 million, which represent 88% of the overall amount of loans and facilities in the Kingdom of Bahrain.