Bahrain is planning to develop 25,000 housing units over the next four years.

Minister of Housing Basim bin Yacob al-Hamer told MEED on 31 May that the ministry is on track to achieve the target of 25,000 units by 2019, as part of a wider target of 40,000 units within eight-10 years.

Many schemes under the Ministry of Housing have received GCC funding, but with such funding likely to decrease, Al-Hamer said the authority is already exploring different financial models to fund the government’s housing pledge.

The ministry had previously developed a major scheme under a public-private partnership (PPP) model and earlier this month the authorities appointed Kuwait-based SSH as contract manager and site supervision consultant for its Al-Madina al-Shamaliya Islands (AMAS) project, located in the north of the country.

The programme was launched in 2010 before the unrest and although the scheme took three years to reach financial close and was trimmed in size due to concerns about its feasibility, it set an important precedent not just for Bahrain, but for the whole region.

It is the first housing PPP negotiated in the Middle East. The legal adviser was the UK’s Trowers & Hamlins.

Al-Hamer said other models were being explored, with private developers being encouraged to participate in the social housing market.