MPs to Debate Advertising Space in Public Buildings

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

MPs will on Tuesday take up a government bill to amend Article 12 of Decree-Law 14 of 1973 on the Regulation of Advertisements, to allow advertising in parts of public buildings under rules to be issued by the minister.

The draft, attached to Decree 27 of 2025, has been reviewed by the Public Utilities and Environment Committee, which has agreed in principle and advised Parliament to approve the text as submitted by the government. The stated aim is to give government bodies a clear legal basis to rent out vacant areas in public buildings, use them as advertising space and bring in extra revenue for the state.

Under the law in force, advertising is banned on places of worship and historic buildings, including their surrounding walls; on public buildings or parts of buildings used for public services; on monuments and their plinths on land reserved for public benefit, as well as recreation areas, pavements and trees; on road surfaces; and on roundabouts and street islands or junctions.

The amendment targets paragraph (b) of Article 12, which currently imposes a blanket ban on advertising on public buildings or parts of buildings that serve the public. Under the new wording, the ban would remain the rule, but advertising would be allowed “in accordance with the controls, conditions and rules” to be laid down in a decision issued by the minister.

The committee report states that the change is intended to create a legislative basis for government entities to invest empty spaces in public buildings, or in parts of buildings dedicated to public services, by turning them into commercial advertising areas and using the proceeds to support public finances.

The draft law consists of a preamble and two articles. The first article replaces paragraph (b) of Article 12 with the new text that hands the minister the power to define which public buildings or parts of buildings may be exempt from the ban and under what terms. The second article is an enforcement clause requiring the Prime Minister and ministers, each in his field, to apply the law, which would take effect on the day after its publication in the Official Gazette.

The committee has also backed the title of the bill, its preamble in the name of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the amended wording of Article 12 and the final enforcement article, all as drafted by the government.