Market brief
Bahrain
The authorities that procure water infrastructure in Bahrain, how the deals are put together, and what is in the pipeline.
Reference profile for BahrainOverview
Bahrain’s bulk water is bought by one authority. The Electricity and Water Authority runs the network, procures independent water and power plants on build-own-operate terms and buys their output,1 2 under 20 to 25 year agreements at Al Dur, Hidd and Sitra; sewage treatment has used a build-own-operate-transfer concession at Muharraq and works contracts at Tubli. The register tracks 9 schemes with US$ 3.7 bn of disclosed value.3 Procurement is small and closed: for the 60 million gallon a day Hidd plant the authority pre-qualified nine developers and invited others to approach them about partnerships,1 and ACWA Power was reported as frontrunner in July 2026 at BD0.276 per cubic metre.4 Tariffs split sharply: a subsidised Bahraini household pays 25 fils a cubic metre for its first 60 cubic metres, while non-Bahraini and commercial customers pay 775 fils from the first.5
Market snapshot
The commercial picture in Bahrain: the scale of the economy and the water sector, the investment climate, and where the near-term activity is concentrated.
Political stability
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators score, 0–100 (absolute scale), 2025. Political stability; higher is more stable.6
Investment climate
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators score, 0–100 (absolute scale), 2025. Regulatory quality for private investment; higher is better.6
Key institutions
- Ministry of Electricity and Water AffairsMinistry
- Electricity & Water Authority (EWA)Utility
Financing & PPP
- PPP frameworkActive (IWPP)
- Tracked projectsUS$ 3.7 bn disclosed value in our projects register, of which US$ 0.2 bn pipeline (not yet operating)
- Active fundersPrivate developer finance (IWPPs, BOOT), Sovereign budget, Gulf Development Programme grants
- Climate adaptation planSubmitted to UNFCCC (November 2025, as a National Adaptation Investment Plan)
Opportunities
- 01RO capacity expansion
- 02Treated-effluent reuse
- 03Smart metering
- 04Solar integration
Key challenges
- 01Total dependence on desalination
- 02Depleted Dammam aquifer
- 03High consumption
- 04Small footprint
Sources and notes
Sources: Water use by sector, supply by source and desalination share: Bahrain national open data portal (data.gov.bh), Renewable Freshwater Resources, 2021, published by the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture. Reuse share: FAO AQUASTAT, 2016, FAO AQUASTAT Dissemination System, retrieved 7 October 2026. Population and GDP: World Bank WDI, latest year (shown on each tile). Other figures: FAO AQUASTAT / national reports, latest available, approximate. Governance indicators: World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators (2025).
Contracting authorities
The bodies that commission, regulate and operate water infrastructure in Bahrain. In Bahrain the Electricity and Water Authority runs the network, procures the independent water and power plants on build-own-operate terms and buys their output;1 2 the national communication records that it sets tariffs, and the Ministry of Works runs public wastewater treatment.7
- Ministry of Electricity and Water AffairsMinistry
- Ministry of WorksMinistry
- Electricity & Water Authority (EWA)Utility
- Water Resources CouncilNational water-governance council chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister
- Supreme Council for EnvironmentEnvironment
How deals are structured
The framework in Bahrain is Active (IWPP), the schemes we track carry US$ 3.7 bn of disclosed value, US$ 0.2 bn of it in projects not yet operating, and the funders active in the sector include Private developer finance (IWPPs, BOOT), Sovereign budget, Gulf Development Programme grants.
In Bahrain, bulk water and power are procured as build-own-operate independent plants selling to the Electricity and Water Authority under 20 to 25 year agreements (Al Dur, Hidd, Sitra), while sewage treatment has used a build-own-operate-transfer concession (Muharraq) and works contracts (the Tubli expansion). The Finance & Economics hub sets out each model and where it has been used.
The projects register bears this out. Of the 9 tracked schemes in Bahrain, 4 name a concession or independent-producer structure and 1 names EPC delivery in the finance note; the rest record only where the money came from, which is not the same as saying they were not concessions.
How to bid
Bahrain’s water procurement is small, closed and unusually candid about how to get in. The Electricity and Water Authority completed pre-qualification for the 60 million gallon a day Hidd independent water plant and named the nine qualified companies and consortia; for anyone not on that list it published the way in, encouraging interested contractors and investors to engage the pre-qualified entities directly about partnerships.1
| Procuring body | The Electricity and Water Authority, which is both the utility and the procurer of independent water plants.1 |
|---|---|
| Route | Closed pre-qualification, then invitation. Nine developers qualified for Hidd: TAQA, ACWA Power, Gulf Investment Corporation, GS Inima, Al Jomaih Energy and Water, JERA Middle East and Africa Management, KEPCO, Sumitomo Corporation and China Machinery Engineering Corporation.1 |
| Contract form | Build-own-operate for Hidd, 60 million imperial gallons a day of seawater reverse osmosis, for 20 to 25 years.1 4 ACWA was reported as frontrunner in July 2026 at BD0.276 per cubic metre, with the plant expected to be fully operational by 2029.4 |
| Conventional tenders | A paper process. Documents are requested from the purchasing and supply directorate at least 48 hours before closing, bids are sealed and physically submitted, and the authority publishes opening results with the number of bids received.8 |
| Approved lists | The authority maintains approved lists of water manufacturers and contractors, plus plumber licensing and water pre-qualification services.8 |
Regulatory intelligence
| Regulation | Status | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| IWPP framework | Active | — | EWA uses private-sector build-own-operate arrangements for projects including the Sitra IWPP and the Hidd IWP; 2026 bid water tariffs were reported for both. |
| Tariff reform | Phased | 2016– | Stepped increases, citizen lifeline preserved. |
| Groundwater protection | In force | 1980, amended 1997 | Legislative Decree No. 12 of 1980, amended 1997: new wells prohibited in the Dammam, Rus and Umm er Radhuma zones; wells must be registered and metered. |
Projects
Tracked schemes in Bahrain, largest first. Each has its own page with the parties, the finance and a dated history.
Sources and notes
Interactive map: switch views, hover or focus a marker, and use the +/− controls (or double-click, then drag) to zoom and pan. Geometry and data from the MENA Water Review library.
Track record
Contracts on record in Bahrain, from the awards log and the major projects register, dated by commissioning where known.
Disclosed value by year
US$ bn of tracked awards in Bahrain carrying a published value
1 further award in this sector has no value recorded in our register and is not in the chart.
| Year | Project | Winning firms | US$ m |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 on line | Al Dur 2 IWPP | ACWA Power, Mitsui, Almoayyed Contracting Group developer | 1,100 |
| 2018 | Tubli Water Pollution Control Centre (Phase 4 expansion) | WTE Wassertechnik, Azmeel Contracting, Tecton Engineering contractor | 207 |
| 2014 on line | Muharraq Wastewater Treatment Plant BOOT | Samsung Engineering, Invest AD, United Utilities International developer | 310 |
| 2012 on line | Al Dur 1 IWPP | ENGIE, Gulf Investment Corporation developer | 2,100 |
| 2006 | Al Hidd IWPP (privatisation and MED expansion) | International Power, ENGIE, Sumitomo developer | n/a |
Sources and notes
Years without a label are award years from the curated log; rows marked on line are dated by commissioning, from the projects register. Register rows without a commissioning date show their stage instead: awarded, with the year recorded, or under construction or operating, with no year. 5 rows in total for Bahrain.
Repeat winners
- ENGIE2 tracked awards, as developer
Sources and notes
Firms appearing on two or more tracked awards in Bahrain. For a PPP, BOT, BOO or independent water, power or sewage project the winner counted is the developer or sponsor consortium; for an EPC or works contract it is the contractor. Each consortium member is counted on its own. EPC contractors working for a developer, subcontractors and equipment suppliers are not counted, and a PPP whose developer is not recorded counts for no firm.
Pipeline & tenders
Structured procurements and live tenders in Bahrain, drawn from the same review that maintains the pipeline tracker.
Pipeline & awards
Tenders
Prices
What households pay
| Household tariff (US$/m³) | Cost of supply (US$/m³) | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.07 – 2.06 | not published | 2026 | Electricity & Water Authority, ewa.bh/en/tariff |
A subsidised Bahraini household pays 25 fils/m³ to 60 m³, 80 fils from 61 to 100 m³ and 775 fils above it. Bahrainis with more than one account, non-Bahrainis and commercial customers pay 775 fils/m³ from the first cubic metre: a thirty-one-fold gap on the same water. One subsidised account per household, and the holder must be registered as head of household. Converted at BD 0.376 per US$ (World Bank official exchange rate, 2025 average).
Residential tariffs, and the cost of supply where a utility publishes it, are kept in one place for the whole region so the comparison holds: a tariff means little without the cost it is measured against.
Watch list
What has actually moved in Bahrain, dated, from the monthly briefings. Each item names the edition it came from.
- September 2026Two price offers for the Sitra independent water and power project, from ACWA and TAQA, were accepted for evaluation; award expected in the fourth quarter.From the October 2026 briefing
The full editions are in the briefing archive.
Sources
8 references
Project, pipeline and tender records are compiled from procurer announcements, lender disclosures and trade reporting; each project page carries its own source and the date it was last checked. Institutions are from the decision-maker directory. Economic and water indicators are cited on the reference profile.
- Electricity and Water Authority (Bahrain), international tender for the 60 MIGD Hidd independent water plant.
- ACWA Power, Al Dur 2 IWPP, project page.
- MENA Water Review major projects register and PPP pipeline — compiled from procurer publications, development-bank project pages and trade reporting; each record names its source.
- MEED, “Frontrunner emerges for Bahrain’s Hidd IWP”, July 2026.
- Electricity and Water Authority (Bahrain), Tariffs, water tariffs tables, retrieved 20 October 2026.
- Kaufmann & Kraay, Worldwide Governance Indicators (World Bank), 2025 update: political-stability and regulatory-quality scores, 0–100, shown in the market snapshot. worldbank.org/wgi.
- Kingdom of Bahrain, Supreme Council for Environment, Third National Communication to the UNFCCC, July 2020.
- Electricity and Water Authority (Bahrain), tenders.
Numbered references are linked from the superscript markers in the text. Figures without a marker come from the sources above as compiled in the site methodology.
Sources and notes
Primary references: the Electricity & Water Authority (EWA); MEED on the 2026 bid tariffs; ECOLEX for Legislative Decree No. 12 of 1997.