Quarry Closure Leaves Bahrain 60% Short on Building Materials

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s only quarry has shut, leaving MPs pressing for answers as the country’s supply of building materials runs 60 per cent short of demand.

Housing projects and major infrastructure works are at risk, and prices for tenders are creeping up. The government says it has a plan, but MPs are not convinced the problem is being tackled at its root.

In Parliament Tuesday, MP Hassan Ebrahim said Bahrain needs between 9 and 11 million tonnes of imported materials each year, yet supplies are falling short. He warned that recent shipments would barely last a month. ‘The problem is far from solved and requires fundamental solutions,’ he said.

Industry and Commerce Minister Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro responded, insisting the government had moved quickly to keep the market steady. ‘The government has taken alternative steps to ensure the availability of construction materials and keep prices in check,’ he said, pointing to agreements with private firms, including ASRY, to allow their ports to be used for imports.

‘This measure has already made an impact,’ Fakhro said. Over 100,000 tonnes of materials arrived in the past fortnight, and prices had begun to drop. But MPs were not persuaded. Temporary measures, they argued, would not address the wider issue: Bahrain’s reliance on external suppliers and a supply chain that was already under strain.

Ebrahim highlighted another problem—Bahraini companies had leased their transport barges to firms abroad, taking advantage of better offers overseas. ‘There are only four or five companies in Bahrain that own barges, and the crisis started when they rented them out,’ he said. He compared Bahrain’s position with the UAE, which had 35 barges and $30 billion worth of projects, yet had managed to keep its own supply chain running.

The effects on government projects are already being felt. ‘Ministries rely on private contractors, and the lack of materials is inflating tender prices, doubling project costs,’ Ebrahim said. He pressed the government to act, warning that ASRY’s only working berth could accommodate just 28,000 tonnes at a time, while an older berth lacked the depth for large shipments.

Housing and Urban Planning Minister Amna Al Rumaihi stepped in to reassure MPs that higher prices would not be passed on to ordinary Bahrainis. ‘Any increase in construction material prices will not affect the housing services provided to citizens,’ she said, adding that the ministry was taking ‘all necessary measures to ensure that no cost increases are passed on to beneficiaries.’

She confirmed that all housing projects were on schedule and within budget, and that contracts issued through the Tender Board contained clauses to account for price shifts. ‘The government, in coordination with contractors, absorbs these cost variations—whether increases or decreases—so that citizens are not burdened with additional expenses,’ she said.

She also addressed concerns over housing loans, pointing out that the last review of Tas’heel and other funding schemes had taken place in 2022, leading to an increase in financing limits. She assured MPs that agreements with developers required them to keep sale prices fixed, regardless of project delays or cost hikes.

Ebrahim remained unconvinced. ‘Beneficiaries of alternative housing services like the Land and Loan scheme, as well as those under the Mazaya programme, need prices to remain affordable,’ he said.

First Deputy Speaker Abdulnabi Salman went further, warning that the problem extended beyond housing. ‘This goes beyond construction. This will affect trade, business, and the cost of living,’ he said. He pressed the government to set out a clear long-term strategy instead of ‘dealing with the situation as it unfolds.’

‘The quarry has already shut, and neighbouring countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait are focused on their own development projects. They can’t be blamed for keeping their resources for domestic use,’ he said.

He recalled Bahrain’s past troubles with sand shortages, saying this crisis had been coming for some time. ‘These are the same old problems, and they always hit housing, works, and infrastructure projects the hardest. The government must be proactive, not reactive,’ he said.

He warned that rising costs would put extra strain on major projects under the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Works. ‘Citizens are waiting for housing programmes like Mazaya, but if construction costs rise, so will their financial burden. What is the Ministry of Housing’s plan if prices continue to climb?’ he asked.

He also raised concerns over the pressure on Bahraini contractors, saying the cost of materials would force them to bid higher, pushing up overall project costs. ‘The government isn’t responsible for the price hikes, but it must act before the problem grows. We can’t afford to sit back and wait,’ he said.

Salman also noted that Bahraini companies were shifting focus abroad. Some of the country’s biggest producers were putting money into operations in neighbouring GCC countries rather than keeping supply chains running at home. ‘They have every right to do so—it’s a business decision. But the challenges they face in Bahrain are pushing them to invest elsewhere,’ he said.

He pointed to the lack of a dedicated port for construction materials as a key reason why supply had slowed. ‘We don’t have the infrastructure to handle the scale of imports we need. That means delays, disruptions, and higher costs,’ he said.

However, Bader Al Mahmoud, Undersecretary for Ports and Maritime Affairs at the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, sought to reassure MPs, pointing to rising import volumes.

‘In just two months of 2025, Bahrain has imported 850,000 tonnes of construction materials, including clinker, limestone, gabbro, and aggregate, a 36 per cent jump from the same period last year,’ he said.

He insisted that Bahrain’s ports were not the issue, noting that there were 23 working berths across Sitra, Khalifa Bin Salman Port, and Salman Industrial City, covering 3,700 metres and equipped for heavy shipments. ‘There is no issue of infrastructure—there are sufficient berths to process construction material shipments,’ he said.

Al Mahmoud confirmed that Saudi Arabia had agreed to provide a new quarry along its eastern coast as an alternative source of raw materials once Bahrain’s own quarry closed at the end of 2025. ‘We are in advanced talks with our Saudi counterparts to establish a dedicated transport route for construction materials to Bahrain,’ he said. Negotiations were also underway to secure more berths for handling shipments.

He also revealed that Bahrain was setting up a joint Bahraini-Saudi company for construction materials, as agreed during the Bahrain-Saudi Business Council meetings. ‘This company, managed through the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will ensure a steady supply of materials,’ he said.

On concerns over shipping capacity, he confirmed that over 100 marine vessels in Bahrain were registered for construction material transport but admitted that many were committed to projects abroad. ‘We recognised the shortfall and expanded the capacity of existing berths to handle deeper vessels,’ he said, adding that ASRY could now take ships carrying over 28,000 tonnes per shipment and that a similar agreement was being negotiated with Bahrain Steel.

To secure long-term imports, he disclosed that the ministry had signed a Letter of Intent with APM Terminals to explore expanding Khalifa Bin Salman Port for construction materials. ‘We are working towards a dedicated berth for construction materials, with the private sector leading its development and operations,’ he said.

Despite government reassurances, MPs remained unconvinced. ‘Neighbouring countries have major projects of their own and are no longer exporting as much as before—we must find a permanent solution,’ Salman said.