Under the plan, the new operator will manage the full range of operations at the ports, although the duration of the concession is unclear. Many of the existing facilities at Mina Salman in south Manama will be transferred to the new Khalifa bin Salman port under development at Hidd and due to be operational in mid-2006.

The outsourcing of ports management is part of a wider privatisation programme by the government, which has recently made significant progress. Bids were submitted in early May for the kingdom's first independent power project (IPP) and HSBCis advising on the sale of a stake in state-owned Bahrain Telecommunications Company(MEED 7:5:04; 16:4:04).