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Bahrain construction faces major slowdown

5 November 2025

 

Bahrain’s construction and transport sector has struggled to stay afloat in recent years, with the total value of awarded contracts falling for the third consecutive year.

According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, only about $400m-worth of contracts had been awarded in Bahrain by the end of October – less than half the $1.2bn recorded during the same period last year.

The sector has yet to return to its pre-pandemic levels. Before 2020, Bahrain consistently awarded more than $2bn in contracts annually, peaking at nearly $4bn in 2016, when the contract to build a new terminal at Bahrain International airport was awarded.

Contract awards

The largest contract award this year is an estimated $77m agreement between Bahrain’s Ministry of Works and local construction firm Haji Hassan Group to expand the Budaiya Highway project.

Another major deal, valued at about $50m, was awarded to local firm Nass Contracting for the second phase of the Muharraq Ring Road.

All other contracts awarded so far this year have been below the $50m mark. These include a $40m contract awarded to local firm United Marine Trading for the construction of a superyacht marina.

Other contracts include the $38m Tilal Residential Development awarded to Manama-based Ahmed Omar Group, and a $35m contract awarded to RP Construction for a mixed-use project in the second phase of Edamah’s Saadah development.

Future prospects

Several large-scale real estate schemes form the bulk of Bahrain’s $5bn pipeline of upcoming construction projects. These include five reclaimed islands, the largest of which is Fasht Al-Jarim – a 183-square-kilometre mixed-use hub that will host a new airport alongside residential, logistics and tourism zones.

Tendering is also ongoing for several real estate-related schemes.

In September, consultants submitted bids for a tender covering contract management and site supervision for 1,269 villas in East Sitra. The project represents the second phase of the East Sitra social housing development.

In October, firms submitted bids for infrastructure works covering 477 residential plots in Block 589 of Madinat Salman Island 10. The project is being developed by Bahrain’s Ministry of Housing & Urban Planning.

Bid evaluation has also reached advanced stages for a tender covering the construction of 507 villas in Madinat Al-Hidd – Villages A2 and A3. 

While the real estate sector is expected to provide much-needed short-term momentum, it is longer-term infrastructure schemes that will underpin sustained growth in Bahrain’s construction and transport market in the coming years.

Transport projects

Long-term projects expected to generate market opportunities include the Bahrain Metro scheme, for which the client prequalified several consortiums in 2023 to bid for the main contract.

Another major infrastructure scheme expected to advance soon is the second causeway linking Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. In 2023, selected construction firms submitted feedback questionnaires and met with the King Fahd Causeway Authority regarding the estimated $3.5bn crossing.

The project involves constructing a 25-kilometre road-and-rail crossing connecting Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. 

It will follow the same alignment as the existing King Fahd Causeway.

Progress is also being made on the Qatar-Bahrain causeway project. Last year, Qatar and Bahrain agreed to restructure the board of directors for the estimated $4bn scheme.

The decision followed a November 2023 meeting between officials from both countries, where they agreed to restart the project.

The project was put on hold in 2010 and effectively cancelled during the Gulf diplomatic dispute in 2017. The restoration of diplomatic ties between Bahrain and Qatar has revived prospects for the project to move forward.

The proposed causeway is a key component of the GCC rail network. After years of slow progress, work on the regional rail scheme has recently accelerated, with design activities advancing on several cross-border links.

In the short term, tendering is expected to begin shortly for the widening and upgrading of the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Highway project, after US-based Parsons Corporation was awarded a $1.4m contract to provide pre-contract engineering consultancy services.

The contract for package four of the Busaiteen Link Road scheme is also expected to be finalised soon, after local firm Haji Hassan Group submitted the lowest bid, valued at $277m.

The package includes the construction of a signature bridge connecting Muharraq to the North Manama Causeway and Bahrain Bay.

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Yasir Iqbal

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