Bahrain has sealed finance agreements with Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) for the King Faisal Highway Development Project and the Salman Industrial City Expansion Project on the sidelines of a key event held last month (June) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Under the first agreement, the IsDB will provide $180 million for the King Faisal Highway Project. The scope of work includes upgrade of the 4.1-km-long corridor between Al Farooq Junction and Al Fateh Junction into a fully free-flowing route through the construction of three concrete tunnels with a total length of 1.93 km along with a 0.58-km bridge, said Yusuf Abdulla Al Humood, the Undersecretary for Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, after signing the deal with Dr Rami Ahmed, the Vice President for Operations at IsDB.

The project also includes the laying of stormwater drainage networks, lighting systems and urban landscaping to enhance mobility and reduce traffic congestion in central Manama.

On the second agreement, Al Humood said it had secured $330 million in funding for the Salman Industrial City Expansion Project.

The scope of work includes reclamation of around 1 million sq m of coastal land and development of 800,000 sq m of fully serviced industrial plots within the city. 

The project scope include the construction of internal roads, water and sewerage networks, and the installation of three main and sub high-voltage electricity substations, he stated.