The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT) has announced the launch of a new procurement process for the construction of the Bahrain Metro Project – an ambitious multi-billion dollar project to develop a state-of-the-art public transport network across the Kingdom complete with fully automated, driverless technology.
The Ministry is seeking to partner with global and regional industry players on a public-private-partnership (PPP) basis. To this end, MTT will host a ‘Global Market Virtual Sounding Forum’ to introduce the project, and engage in dialogue with key players within the global construction industry. The Forum will be held during the first week of March 2021, and will be followed later in the year by the project’s tendering via a global competitive bidding process. MTT has appointed a team of Financial, Technical, and Legal advisors led by KPMG to act as the Lead Transaction Advisors.
The Project will consist of developing an extensive 109km rail-based urban transit network in a phased manner comprising of four transit lines. Phase One of the MTT’s ambitious plans comprises two lines with an estimated length of 28.6 km and includes 20 stations with two interchanges. The two lines aim to connect the key transit points including Bahrain International Airport as well as major residential areas, commercial areas and school districts in Bahrain.
Announcing the launch of the project, Kamal bin Ahmed Mohamed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications said, “The Ministry is looking to collaborate with the private sector on a public private partnership basis to encourage innovation, create efficiencies and provide the best value for money for this project. This approach is reflective of our leadership’s commitment to enable the private sector’s active participation in the economy with the Government acting as a facilitator and regulator.”
“We have been working in full force on a complete transportation infrastructure improvement strategy covering land, air and sea, to both support and drive the Kingdom’s economic development and serve our citizens, residents and visitors. Through the Bahrain Metro project, MTT aspires to apply the latest technology that is up to international standards. This marks an important milestone as it will improve the quality of life of citizens by providing a fast, comfortable, reliable, and sustainable transportation system in the Kingdom of Bahrain.”
The Bahrain Metro Project is the latest in a long line of large-scale projects in Bahrain, worth US $32 Billion, that will transform the transportation, industrial, hospitality and retail sectors through public and private investments. This includes a US $7.5 Billion investment across the manufacturing, energy, healthcare and education sectors. Government holding companies will also be investing over US $10 billion across projects within the aluminum and oil and gas sectors.
Projects include the recently completed Alba Line 6 Expansion project, Bapco modernisation project, A-B pipeline, and LNG Terminal. Work is also set to begin on the US $4 Billion King Hamad Causeway project following the appointment in October 2019 of a consultancy consortium to start developing the financial model and other requirements necessary for construction. Most recently the US $1.1 Billion Bahrain International Airport expansion has now been completed, with the new terminal ready and operational.
The second phase of the expansion will focus on the new Cargo Express Village, which will offer direct access to airside and freighter parking, set to be completed in the second half of this year.
Bahrain’s project pipeline is part of the wider US $1.2 Trillion worth of infrastructure development projects currently planned or underway across the GCC. Located at the nexus of the Middle East, with unparalleled access to all regional markets, Bahrain is increasingly becoming the destination of choice for global businesses seeking access to fast-expanding opportunities.
In particular, the Kingdom has extensive experience successfully procuring large infrastructure projects on a PPP basis across all sectors and is a regional pioneer in the employment of the PPP model for project delivery in the Social Housing and power & water sectors.
