World Bank lists top ME countries for construction

A World Bank report has put Bahrain on the top of the list of Middle Eastern countries that require the least amount of procedures to attain construction permits.

The annual Doing Business 2009 report has been compiled by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation.

The other Middle Eastern countries that followed were Iraq in second place, Oman in third, Jordan in fourth, Saudi Arabia in fifth, Iran in sixth and Qatar in seventh place.

The UAE came in at the bottom of the list followed only by Kuwait.

Both Bahrain and Qatar also topped a related list for the least amount of time to deal with construction permits.

Doing Business 2009 ranks 181 economies on the overall ease of doing business with a special section focused on construction.

The indicators on dealing with construction permits record all procedures officially required for an entrepreneur in the construction industry to build a project.

These include submitting project documents (building plans, site maps) to the authorities, obtaining all necessary licenses and permits, completing all required notifications and receiving all necessary inspections. They also include procedures for obtaining utility connections, such as electricity, telephone, water and sewerage. The time and cost to complete each procedure under normal circumstances are calculated.

All official fees associated with legally completing the procedures are included. Time is recorded in calendar days.