Real Estate

As GCC money pours into infrastructure and housing projects in Bahrain, there are places where the skyline is still dominated by abandoned building sites that serve as reminders of the 2008 global economic downturn and property crash. Now, the government is taking legal action to confront the issue.

As part of a raft of legislation designed to restore confidence to the property sector and to protect the rights of those involved in property transactions, a new law to ensure the rights of both landlords and tenants of rented property has been passed.

In the space of a generation Bahrain has been transformed beyond recognition. A bustling ferry jetty that was once the only way to reach Saudi Arabia has been transformed into a financial harbour, while the five-star Gulf Hotel, built to overlook the beach in 1969, now markets itself as a downtown destination. Land reclamation offers...

Faced with a backlog of more than 50,000 social housing requests, Bahrain’s Ministry of Housing (MoH) has turned to the private sector for help, and in 2016 the first citizens began to receive the keys to brand new properties built under a pioneering public-private partnership (PPP).

Business is booming for the construction industry in Bahrain, but this is no repeat of the heady days of the 2008 property bubble. The island is building for the future, using billions of dollars of Gulf Development Programme donations to remodel its airport and highway system, as well as to provide tens of thousands of affordable homes for...

Construction activity eased in 2015, as investors awaited the outcome of November’s historic election and the passage of a new law governing the development of condominiums. The law was introduced in Parliament in 2012 and could potentially allow foreigners to buy property in the country for the first time. Despite the political risks, Myanmar...