Dh374m grant to part finance Al Madina Al Shamliya
ABU DHABI, 24th August, 2016 – Bahrain’s housing shortage due to its growing population and economic boom is soon to come to an end thanks to an Dh374 million ($100m) grant from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development(ADFD), the UAE’s international development arm.
The grant enables the beginning of the construction of North City (Al Madina Al Shamliya) for infrastructure services to support the building of the island.
The latest funding agreement will enable the preparation for the land reclamation to get underway and the beginning of the island construction itself, with this Phase 1 being worth Dh374m.
This will be followed by Phase 2 on the islands themselves with Dh2.56 billion of the grant going for the building of the initial 2,694 houses.
Upon completion of the project the new city will be the heart of a new Bahrain and will be made up of a new set of inter-linked man-made islands and will be representing a major step forward in the city state’s development.
Basim bin Yacob Al Hamer, Minister of Housing from Bahrain welcomed the grant stating, “We are hugely appreciative of this funding which will help us relieve some of our chronic housing shortages here in Bahrain with the North City project, [which is] part of a much broader plan to build 40,000 new homes for our people.
“I hope that such economic and social development, such as with our new airport, will be a catalyst for national and regional growth.”
“The North City project is an important project which will be an economic boost to Bahrain through new construction and opportunities as well as easing urgent overcrowding issues,” said Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, ADFD Director General.
“This grant is part of our wider commitment to the government and people of Bahrain as the country continues to rapidly grow and confront new development opportunities and challenges and we look forward to seeing this scheme come to fruition.”
The project is being funded by the Dh9.19 billion (US$2.5 billion) grant provided by the UAE to Bahrain in 2013 as part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) development programme for Bahrain. Administered by ADFD, the grant aims to support development projects in the Kingdom over the 10 years.
Under the grant provided by the UAE to Bahrain, ADFD also manages development projects across key economic sectors including housing, water, health, and transportation.
