Bahrain’s non-oil sector growth accelerates to 4.4% in Q1 2027; Alba plays a significant role

According to the recently published Bahrain Economic Quarterly, by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), growth in the non-oil sector of Bahrain’s economy reached 4.4% in Q1 2017, up from 3.7% during the same period of 2016.

This growth was primarily driven by strong performance across the non-oil private sector. The Kingdom is experiencing large amount of investment in infrastructure projects which is supporting the growth momentum in Bahrain’s non-oil economy.  Overall, in the first quarter of 2017 the Bahraini economy expanded by 2.9%.

One of such projects is the US$ 3 billion Alba Line 6 project – which is set to create the world’s largest single-site aluminium smelter. The Potline 6 has two pot rooms that are considered the longest buildings on the Line 6 Expansion Project plot. Both, the potshells and busbar rings for the Line 6 Expansion Project are 100% fabricated in Bahrain, demonstrating the ability of Bahraini companies to back the landmark project. These major smelter components are some of the largest ever manufactured for any aluminium smelter in the world. The project is expected to produce the first hot metal by January 2019.

There are also a number of important projects happening in the railway sector. The 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% increase on the active pipeline from Q1 of 2016.

Speaking on the publication of the report, Dr. Jarmo Kotilaine, Chief Economic Advisor of the Bahrain EDB, commented: "The Q1 growth figures are very encouraging and underscore the impact both of the Government’s reform agenda and the powerful countercyclical impact of the unprecedented infrastructure project pipeline.”

He cited Alba’s smelter as one of the major projects underpinning the growth in Bahrain and said that the investment in the construction of world’s largest single-site aluminium smelter will continue to support growth and make Bahrain an attractive destination for foreign investments.