Ministry of Works (Bahrain)

Ministry overview
Formed	1975 (49 years ago)
Preceding Ministry	The Ministry of Works & Housing (MWH);
Type	Government Ministry
Jurisdiction	Cabinet of Bahrain
Headquarters	Hoora, Manama; 26°14′15.9″N 50°35′17.5″E / 26.237750°N 50.588194°E
Employees	1,572 (2009)
Minister responsible	H.E. Ibrahim bin Hassan Al Hawaj;
Deputy Minister responsible	Shaikh Meshaal Al-Khalifa (Undersecretary);
Website	works.gov.bh
Footnotes
	Construction - Project Management - Infrastructure Asset Management

The Ministry of Works (MOW) is responsible for all infrastructure services in the Kingdom of Bahrain, including the public road network, drainage systems, and public buildings.^[1] Its work—which encompasses strategic planning, design, development, construction, project management and maintenance—is carried out in accordance with the National Strategic Master Plan for Bahrain, outlook 2030.^[1] This national plan provides the legal framework for structural planning, strategic development and investment in the Kingdom, as well as a strong framework for development control.^[1]

The Ministry of Sectoral Planning is moving towards a model in which it will manage the core business areas of sectoral planning, policy development, and regulation. It will also outsource service delivery to the private sector.^[1] The Ministry's Central Planning Organization (CPO) coordinates the planning and implementation of all public infrastructure projects across the public sector as well as major industries, such as oil and gas.^[1] The CPO has developed a novel and sophisticated Geographic Information System (GIS) to support this function.^[1]

History

The Ministry was originally part of the Ministry of Housing when it was established in 1975.^[2] At that time it comprised four directorates: Works, Electricity, Water, and Research and Projects.^[2]

In 1992, the Ministry was restructured into two sectors by Amiri Decree No. 3, 1992: Public Works and Electricity and Water.^[2] In 1995, a new structure emerged according to Amiri Decree No. 12, 1995 and the name of the Ministry became the Ministry of Works and Agriculture.^[2] In April 2001, it became the Ministry of Works.^[2] The cabinet added the Housing sector to the functions of the Ministry after Parliament elections in November 2002.^[2]

The Housing sector (formerly Ministry of Housing established in 1975) was responsible for providing housing services to citizens of the Kingdom with well-planned programs to provide suitable houses to Bahraini families incapable of building their own houses.^[2]

The Ministry of Works and Housing underwent several changes in its role and functions within the government structure.^[2] It is operating within two constraints: statutory, pertaining to the degree of harmony of its mission with its evolving environment, including civil service legislation; and budgetary, pertaining to the scarcity of resources available compared with those needed, at a time when public agencies are invited to rationalize public expenditure and improve the management of allocated resources.^[2]

In December 2007 according to a recently issued Decree, the Ministry of Works and Housing was again divided into two separate Ministries, one for Housing and one for Public Works.^[2] In that same decree, the Ministry of Electricity and Water was to become an Authority under the purview of the Minister of Works.^[2]

The Ministry is headed by Minister for Works H.E. Ibrahim bin Hassan Al Hawaj, appointed in June 2022.^[3]

Recent projects

North Manama Causeway Phase 2 and Busaiteen Link Project, which included the construction of a large sand causeway for a six-lane, five-kilometer stretch motorway has been completed by the contractor Boskalis as of March 2022.^[4] The main contractor was a joint venture of Belgium's Six Construct (subsidiary of Besix) and the local Haji Hassan Group.^[5]

The 2018 Al-Fateh Highway Upgrade project which launched in 2018 and with a total costs of $107.32m (BD 40.5m) is expected to be completed by 2024.^[6]