Turkey willing to undertake construction projects in Bahrain

ANKARA (A.A) - February 1, 2012 - Turkey's economy minister expressed on Wednesday the country's willingness to undertake construction projects in Bahrain. Zafer Caglayan said Turkey had the second biggest international construction industry in the world behind China. "However, the projects Turkish contractors have undertaken in Bahrain are insufficient. I would like to state that we are eager to undertake engineering, architecture and construction projects in three new settlements namely East Hidd, East Sitra and Northern City in Bahrain," Caglayan said during his meeting with Bahrain's Minister of Housing Basim bin Yacub al-Hamar in Ankara. Caglayan said he wanted to visit Bahrain soon and share Turkey's urban transformation experiences, adding that Turkey was eager to raise trade volume with Bahrain. Moreover, al-Hamar said Turkish contractors were always number one for Bahrain, and Bahrain had social dwelling problems and wanted to solve it. Al-Hamar said housing would be the biggest industry in Bahrain in a few years, and expressed willingness to cooperate with Turkey. The Bahraini minister also said his country also wanted to cooperate with Turkey in the area of construction materials. Bahraini-Turkish trade volume is around 272 million USD. Bahraini businessmen have 296 million USD of investments in Turkey, while Turkish companies invest some 170 million USD in Bahraini projects. Ten Turkish banks are operating in Bahrain, and they constitute 14 percent of overall banking industry in Bahrain with 35 billion USD of assets.