Bahrain signs $2.7bn in new tenders over 9 months
Bahrain awarded 1,022 government tenders in the first nine months of 2020, worth a total of $2.7 billion, with the oil sector taking the lion’s share, according to official figures released on Sunday.
According to Bahrain’s Tender Board, the government procurement regulator, the oil sector accounted for 134 tenders worth $733.8 million, followed by the construction and engineering industry (162 tenders, $704.8 million), aviation sector (143 tenders, $501.3 million) and materials and equipment sector (231 tenders, $471.5 million).
While the services sector trailed near the end with $256 million of contracts, it had the highest volume of deals on offer, with 361 tenders over the same period.
The board also revealed the largest purchasing authorities, led by Tatweer Petroleum with $711.7 million of contracts, followed by Gulf Air ($488 million) and the Electricity & Water Authority ($343.6 million).
Commenting on the new data, Sheikh Nayef bin Khalid Al-Khalifa, chairman of the Tender Board, said: “This robust performance is
indicative of Bahrain’s commitment and ability to remain open for business even in times of crisis. Of particular note is the consistently high value of contracts in the kingdom’s thriving construction and engineering sector, testament to the rich opportunity on offer owing to our extensive, multibillion-dollar pipeline of projects there.”
Like many economies around the world, Bahrain has been struggling amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and its economy contracted by 8.9 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of this year, it was reported in September. The hardest hit sector was the hotel and restaurant industry, which saw activity decline by 61.3 percent compared with the same period in 2019.