Non-oil boom

Bahrain’s headline real growth rate increased sharply in the second quarter of 2018 to an annual pace of 2.4 percent. The data published in the Bahrain Economic Quarterly Report (BEQ) shows a significant increase in growth from the previous quarter, which was underpinned by both the normalization of oil production and markedly faster nonoil growth. The quarterly report produced by the Bahrain EDB found that Bahrain’s non-oil GDP expanded by 2.8pc in the second quarter, driven by the construction (up 6.7pc) and manufacturing sectors (up 4.5pc).

The ongoing expansion in the construction sector is illustrated by the total sum of infrastructure projects in Bahrain reaching USD87.3bn in mid-September according to MEED Projects, a 3.8pc year-on-year growth. “A number of strategic projects are making headway. For instance, the cumulative total of active infrastructure investments funded by the GCC Development Fund attained USD 3.7bn in the third quarter, which is an increase of 12.7pc in 2017.”