Bahrain awarded 509 government tenders totalling $1.9bn during the first quarter of 2018, according to Bahrain Tender Board.

The oil and gas, infrastructure and health sectors together accounted for 85 per cent of the total value of tenders issued.

There were contracts totalling $623m awarded in the oil and gas sector, which accounted for 32 per cent of the total value of tenders let during the first quarter.

The growing momentum of the kingdom’s oil and gas sector is largely attributed to the estimated $4.2bn expansion of Bahrain Petroleum Company’s (Bapco’s) Sitra refinery, which will increase production from 260,000 to 360,000 barrels a day. Another driver of growth in the sector is the new oil pipeline project, in partnership with Saudi Arabia, which has a capacity of 350,000 barrels a day.

Infrastructure was a close second in terms of its contribution to the total value of first quarter tenders awarded with $615.4m, which comprised 31.9 per cent of the total value.

The health sector followed with $440m-worth of tenders awarded or 22 per cent of the total. Contracts signed in the aviation sector reached $136.3m or 7 per cent of the total. There were $28m of government contracts awarded, which accounted for 1.5 per cent of the total value of tenders awarded, while a public investment of $24m was made in the information sector, comprising 1.2 per cent of the total value. Government investment in the youth and education sectors was valued at $21m, accounting for 1.1 per cent of the total.

Of the 509 tenders awarded during the first quarter, 190 were in infrastructure, followed by 79 in oil and gas, and 53 in aviation. The health sector let 51 contracts, while the youth and education sector awarded 38 tenders. There were 24 awarded by the information sector, 12 by the investment sector, and five for housing. There were another 57 tenders awarded by other sectors.

The data reflects the government’s spending on infrastructure projects.

A key driver for infrastructure in the kingdom is the implementation of Bahrain’s $32bn infrastructure development programme. It includes $12.4bn of investment in real estate, followed by the manufacturing sector with investments of $8.85bn, $8.8bn for transport and logistics, $2.41bn for tourism, and $0.27bn for health care.

While private sector tenders were worth approximately $15bn, public tenders – including those awarded to government holding companies and investment funds – were valued at $10bn, with an additional $7bn funded by the Gulf Development Programme.