The tender for construction of a $135 million (BHD50 million) business park within Bahrain Investment Wharf (BIW) has been delayed in anticipation of cheaper construction costs .
The Al Khaleej Development Company (Tameer) was expected to call for bids on the project by the end of March, but has decided it would be an unwise strategy, said its executive director of business development Mohammed Abdul Khaliq in comments to Construction Week Online.
“The competition between contractors is becoming more fierce, this is one factor, but we are also waiting for the cost of building materials to settle,” he said.
“The big thing we are hoping for is Saudi Arabia to lift its restrictions on exporting cement and there are indications that it could happen soon.
“This would make a huge difference because the cost of all cement, blocks and precast will be affected.”
Tameer is not the only firm to delay projects in a bid to take advantage of reduced material prices. Qatar was reported earlier this week to have shelved work on its new Al Shaheen refinery to save 30 percent on construction costs.
In June Saudi Arabia halved its cement exports to Bahrain from 50,000 tonnes a week to 25,000 tonnes, which caused prices to increase by 30-40 percent, according to some ready-mix plants.
Khaliq said he expects other developers will also be holding off issuing tenders in anticipation that the restriction will be lifted.
He said Tameer still intends to start construction on BIW’s business park in mid June as scheduled regardless of whether the ban is lifted or not.
The project will consist of office blocks to compliment the industrial and logistics activities of BIW’s investors.
Tameer is a closed shareholding company owned by Innovest, a Sharia-compliant investment company regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain.
Tameer’s current projects in Bahrain include the $233 million BIW, the $110 million Tala Island, and the $1.3 billion Durrat Marina.
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