Bahrain’s Housing Ministry is seeking to prequalify local contracting firms by 9 May for a contract to build apartment buildings.

Neither the ministry nor Bahrain’s Tender Board specified the location of the buildings.

The ministry aims to build 40,000 housing units by 2022.

Of these, 5,000 have been delivered and occupied, another 8,885 are due to be delivered by the end of 2018, 4,000 are under construction and 7,000 are in the tendering stage.

Under the current plan, the ministry is expected to deliver more than 15,000 more housing units between 2019 and 2022.

MEED understands the ministry has a waiting list of 60,000 applicants.

Bahrain’s social housing programme allows eligible applicants to purchase a housing unit of their choice, through mortgage finance obtained from conventional or Islamic participating financial institutions.

The government subsidises the mortgage installments, to which the beneficiary contributes 25 percent of their monthly income and the government contributes the difference between the total monthly installment and beneficiary’s contribution over 25 years.

The ministry's new township developments are located in East Hidd, East Sitra, Al-Oyoun, Al-Madina al-Shamaliya, Ramli and Southern City.