Bahrains non-oil growth accelerates to 4.4% in Q1

MANAMA, 6th August, 2017 (WAM) -- Growth in the non-oil sector of Bahrains economy reached 4.4 percent in the first quarter of 2017, up from 3.7 percent during 2016, according to the Bahrain Economic Quarterly published by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).

This growth was driven by strong performance across the non-oil private sector, with momentum continuing to be supported by large-scale infrastructure projects. Overall, during the first three months of 2017 the Bahraini economy expanded by 2.9 percent , in line with the 3 percent pace seen in 2016 as a whole, Bahrain News Agency, reported, citing the EDB publication.

The first three months of 2017 saw particularly strong growth in the hotels and restaurants, financial services and transportation and communications industries. Hotels and restaurants emerged as the fastest growing single sector during Q1, posting a 12.3 percent year-on-year real rate of expansion and financial services continued along its strong growth trajectory reported last year, posting an annual expansion of 8.3 percent at the end of Q1 compared to 5.2 percent at the same in 2016. The transportation and communications sector also performed strongly, with an annual real growth rate of 8.2 percent in Q1, .

Underpinning the near term momentum in Bahrains non-oil economy is the large amount of investment in infrastructure that the Kingdom is experiencing. This includes the US$ 3 billion Alba Line 6 project which is set to create the worlds largest single-site aluminium smelter. US$ 1 billion is being invested in the airport modernisation programme and a further US$ 335 million earmarked for a new Banagas gas plant. Expressions of interest have been solicited for the construction of the King Hamad Causeway which will add to the existing King Fahd Causeway, connecting Bahrain to Saudi Arabia and serving as a platform for the GCC railway.

Active projects that are part of the GCC Development Fund also saw a further increase in their aggregate value. The cumulative total worth of GCC Development Fund projects that had broken ground by Q2 of 2017 reached around US$ 3.2 billion. This marks a 111.3 percent increase on the active pipeline from Q1 of 2016.