Bahrain government is hoping to increase the industrial sector’s contribution to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 20 per cent from the current 16 per cent by 2020, the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed Al Zayani said today.

 

“The Industrial sector, today, is one of the fastest growing sector in our economy.  It is forecast to grow even further in line with the government’s policy to diversify and expand economy away from oil,” Al Zayani said on the sidelines of the opening of Ariston Thermo’s water heater production plant at Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP). 

 

“Today, the contribution of the industrial sector to GDP is 16 per cent. We are hoping to increase it to beyond 20 per cent in the near future, say by 2020,” he added.

 

“Manufacturing sector makes a huge contribution to Bahraini economy in terms of jobs, exports and other investments and is considered today as one of the fastest growing sector within our economy,” the minister commented.

 

“Ariston’s presence in Bahrain significantly strengthens our international reputation as a manufacturing hub of choice and builds on the existing manufacturing sectors of value base,” he added.

 

Commenting on the inauguration, Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) chief executive Khalid Al Rumaihi, said: “Ariston Thermo’s new plant is a truly welcome addition to the Bahrain International Investment Park. The plant’s opening is a clear indication of the vast potential and advantages that the manufacturing industry in Bahrain provides, and further reinforces the Kingdom’s position as the ideal hub to meet growing regional demand.”

 

The Kingdom, last month, saw the opening of food and beverage giant Mondelez’s $90 million biscuit factory, which will serve as a hub for exports to the Gulf region, the Levant and Africa. 

 

Earlier, Aluminium Bahrain’s (Alba) Chief Executive Officer Tim Murray had told Gulf Industry magazine that Bahrain’s aluminium industry will account for 15 to 16 per cent of the kingdom’s GDP with the beginning of the commercial operations of Alba’s brownfield Line 6 Expansion Project from January 1, 2019.

 

“The aluminium industry is one of the strategic sectors that has led Bahrain’s economic diversification and currently accounts for 12 per cent of the kingdom’s GDP. We see the contribution rising to 15 to 16 per cent with Line 6 Expansion Project,” Murray had commented.

 

EDB recently reported that Bahrain’s real GDP grew by 3.9 per cent in 2017, with the non-oil economy expanding by 5 per cent, making it the fastest growing country in the GCC, according to data published in the latest Bahrain Economic Quarterly (BEQ).

 

The data further suggested the oil and gas sector now accounts for only 18.4 per cent of Bahrain’s real GDP, compared to 43.6 per cent in 2000.

 

The success of private sector industries across the Bahraini ecosystem supports the widespread recognition the Kingdom enjoys as a regional pioneer of economic diversification thanks to sustained efforts to improve the business and regulatory environment, the BEQ noted. 

 

The IMF’s World Economic Outlook, last month, forecast that Bahrain’s economy would continue to be the fastest growing economy in the GCC in 2018. – TradeArabia News Service