Cabinet reviews mega development projects

Directives issued to complete projects as per deadline

Manama

 Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa has issued directives to Ministries and state departments to implement the development and service projects included in the Government Action Plan (GAP) according to the pre-set time frame.

 Reviewing the currently implemented mega development projects, HRH Premier commended the efforts exerted by the Executive Committee, chaired by HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, to follow-up on the implementation progress of those projects with the relevant Ministries and parties.

 Chairing the cabinet weekly session yesterday, attended by Prince Salman, HRH the Premier reviewed the preparations for the Haj season and the facilities provided for Bahraini pilgrims.

 “The Premier instructed the Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Ministry to ensure that Haj groups completed the necessary procedures to ensure that Bahraini pilgrims receive the best quality services,” Secretary-General of the Cabinet Dr. Yaser bin Essa Al-Nasser said in a statement following the session held at the Gudaibiya Palace.

 Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee informed the cabinet about the arrangements and preparations for the Haj season.

 Roaming charges to come down

 The cabinet endorsed a plan to reduce international roaming rates between the kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The move that will include calls, SMSes and data services will positively impact the social and economic infrastructure in GCC countries.

It will also activate the resolution of the GCC Ministerial Committee for Post, Communications and Information Technology on reducing rates for roaming, telephone calls, text messaging and data services throughout the GCC countries from 2016.

 The Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications was requested to coordinate with the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs to prepare a draft resolution in this regard.

 Wages of guards

A draft resolution on the salaries of the Interior Ministry’s special guards at government installations and others was also approved.

 Under the draft resolution, presented by the Interior Minister, guards of installations owned by public legal persons will receive BD365, while guards of facilities owned by ordinary persons will get BD 500 monthly.

 The cabinet also reviewed a number of indicators that reflect urban growth in the investment, trade, industrial and housing fields. Figures indicated that licenses for investment projects soared by 9 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2014.