Project finance 'more important than ever'

04 February 2014

Bahrain’s finance minister says governments are more committed to social and economic development

Project finance is becoming more important for governments’ in the Middle East, Bahrain’s finance minister has told MEED’s Project and Infrastructure Finance Conference.

Speaking at the MEED event in Manama on 4 February, Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s finance minister and oil and gas affairs minister, said “project and infrastructure finance has become more important than ever before to [regional] governments”.

“[Governments] are more committed to development of countries – not just economical but social – including hospitals, schools… and desalination plants,” Sheikh Ahmed told the conference.

He said infrastructure finance was important because such projects “contribute to the strengthening of the social fabric of society”.

Sheikh Ahmed added that vital infrastructure projects, such as desalination plants, should not just be considered in terms of cost, but also in terms of factors such as job creation.

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