BAHRAIN Chamber has agreed to a parliamentary proposal to undertake a feasibility study to set up artificial islands for the establishment of industrial facilities.
This idea is a pioneering step to evaluate the results of establishing this type of islands, it said, pointing out that it will encourage industrial investment in light of Bahrain’s distinguished geographical location.
In its response to the parliamentary proposal, the chamber said the move would contribute to reducing environmental pollution and avoiding traffic congestion problems.
Also, it would be a source of income diversification in the kingdom, and would help provide job opportunities for Bahraini youth, which would support the national economy, it noted.
Implementation of the proposal is a practical solution to the shortage of industrial land in Bahrain, but it will require continuous monitoring of the maritime borders and the creation of appropriate infrastructure for these artificial islands namely roads, bridges, electricity, water and sewage treatment in addition to the establishment of housing for workers on these islands.
It will also require the provision of soft loans with no interest for factories to move their industrial facilities to these new islands.
Meanwhile, the Industry and Commerce Ministry said it wasn’t in favour of the proposal, considering that the establishment of such artificial islands is useless at the present time.
In its reply to parliament, it said the proposal was studied by specialists at the ministry, and it was found that the establishment of artificial islands away from cities will involve high financial costs for land reclamation.
This is in addition to the need to build bridges and road networks with special specifications, provide infrastructure services from main and subsidiary stations for electricity, water and gas.
&uuid=(email))