Steering Bahrain's future

HE Fahmi bin Ali Al Jowder:

Bahrain’s Minister of Works and Minister in charge of the Electricity and Water Authority HE Fahmi Bin Ali Al Jowder sat down with CW to discuss the government’s big projects, the current focus on Public Private Partnerships and the future role of renewable energies.

The ministry began a significant programme towards self improvement in 2002. What were the outcomes?
It firstly helped set out a strategic path for the ministry for the years to come. It also brought about a significant restructure. We involved an international consultant to look at the duties of the ministry and try and come up with a formula that would allow us to best meet the expectations of the government and the people of Bahrain.

 Without that we would be limping now and we wouldn’t be able to move forward with our huge programme of work.

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Was there also a significant push towards increasing project management skills?
Yes, we decided to focus mainly on project management and give out all other works to the private sector.

This not only helps the growth of the private sector but also allowed us to be more focused on delivering our projects. Now we are probably the only ministry in the Middle East to have a project management methodology which covers all our work, whether it’s construction, procurement or any other project.

The ministry also has a larger number of PMI certified project management professionals than any other organisation in Bahrain, which is something I’m very proud of.

What is the next stage of the plan?
We are now moving into the third and final phase which will improve our IT systems. We have signed a deal with AECOM, which is around BHD1 million (US $2.65 million), to develop software that will automate all project management steps that we are taking.

How did the role of privatisation feature in the Ministry’s strategic planning?
In 2004 we determined that Public Private Partnership is one area that we needed to focus on greatly and we signed a deal with KMPG to plan the legal and administrative framework of the different services.

But with the recent launch of the 2030 Economic Vision of Bahrain our plans now come under a national framework for privatisation. We had a bit of a head start and the national strategy is making it much easier.

We are now seeing the first privatisation projects roll out; can you run me through them starting with the energy sector?
The first project is Al Dur Water and Power Plant, which is being developed by the private sector for the government and has been fully subscribed. We’re expecting the plant to begin producing water and power in June next year and achieve full production the following year.

For that reason we have to start rolling out a new transmission network over the next five years. It is a substantial programme, around BHD500 million of which will be funded by the private sector.