December 02, 2008

USD 600 million GIIC expansion puts on hold – Report

Gulf Daily News reported that work on one of the Gulf's biggest industrial schemes underway in Bahrain has been put on hold until it complies with global environment standards.

As per report, the USD 600 million expansion of the Gulf Industrial Investment Corporation's plant operations in Hidd must first comply with a range of local and international standards on air quality and noise pollution.

Manama based Posford Haskoning Environment Gulf was appointed to carry out an environmental impact assessment and has brought in experts from its UK based partner company Royal Haskoning.

Ms Halel Abdulrahman MD of Gulf Industrial Investment Corporation said that the project could not go ahead until officials obtained approval from the general directorate of environment and wildlife protection.

More than 272,000 square meter of land is needed to construct a second GIIC plant and the project will also include the expansion of a stockyard and jetty. The development will increase its iron ore palletizing capacity from 6 million to 11 million tonnes a year and help Bahrain become the main supplier for the Gulf steel industry. The new plant is expected to begin production in the third quarter of 2009.

Ms Abdulrahman said that the study had been underway for a year and involved site assessments, consultations and secondary data collection. It found the expansion would not adversely affect the environment, as long as GIIC follows the agreements and implements a series of measures. She added that "The assessment included a detailed air monitoring exercise, noise and ground water assessment, waste and chemical usage, material handling and dust management."