Ministry of Housing (Bahrain)

Ministry overview
Formed	1975 (46 years ago)
Preceding Ministry	The Ministry of Works & Housing (MWH);
Type	Government Ministry
Jurisdiction	Cabinet of Bahrain
Headquarters	Diplomatic Area, Manama; 26.241183°N 50.589093°E
Minister responsible	Basim bin Yacob Alhamer;
Deputy Minister responsible	Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa (Undersecretary);
Website	housing.gov.bh
Footnotes
	Construction - Project Management

The Ministry of Housing (MOH) is responsible for providing adequate housing for families with limited income in Bahrain.

History and profile

The Ministry was established in 1975[1] with Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa the first Housing Minister.[1] He served in the post between 1975 and 1995.[2]

The cabinet added the Housing sector to the Ministry of Works functions after Parliament elections in November 2002. It was then called "The Ministry of Works & Housing". In December 2007, the Ministry of Works and Housing was again divided into two separate Ministries, one for Housing and one for Public Works.

Ministry's projects

The ministry has allegedly constructed 91,864 housing services to this day.[3] The most notable projects were the construction of:

Isa Town
Hamad Town
East Hidd City
East Sitra City
Northern City (now renamed Salman Town)
Zayed Town

In 2013 the Ministry of Housing announced the first ever housing public private partnership (PPP). Partnering with Ithmaar Bank the Ministry has plans to build 50,000 social housing units. The project has begun with 2,800 units in Al Medina Al Shamaliya and Al Luwzi.[4]

Criticism

In May 2013, Prince Charles’s Foundation for Building Community had signed an agreement with the Bahraini Minister of Housing, Basim Alhamer. The purpose was to advise on a sustainable-housing development inspired by Charles’s Poundbury village in Dorset. The £700,000 deal was sharply criticised by campaigners who said it deflected attention from human-rights abuses during the 2011 bloody protests for reform in Bahrain.[5]

References

"Urban Revitalization of Mass Housing International Competition" (PDF). Ministry of Housing. Archived from the original (Report) on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
"About Us". Isa Award. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
About Us Ministry of Housing. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
"Bahrain launches public-private housing scheme". tradearabia.com.
"First Poundbury, now Bahrain: Should Prince Charles really be selling town planning to despots?". The Independent. Retrieved 17 August 2014.

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[rep-1] "Urban Revitalization of Mass Housing International Competition" (PDF). Ministry of Housing. Archived from the original (Report) on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.

[2] "About Us". Isa Award. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.

[3] About Us Ministry of Housing. Retrieved 30 September 2014.

[4] "Bahrain launches public-private housing scheme". tradearabia.com.

[Ind-UK-5] "First Poundbury, now Bahrain: Should Prince Charles really be selling town planning to despots?". The Independent. Retrieved 17 August 2014.