Markets & Business
Bahrain awards $3.89B in Golden Licenses to four projects
Bahrain awarded Golden Licenses worth a combined $3.89 billion to four projects spanning aviation logistics, real estate and technology at Gateway Gulf 2026.
The Kingdom of Bahrain announced $3.89 billion in investment from four large-scale projects awarded Golden Licenses at Gateway Gulf 2026, the fourth edition of an invite-only forum the Bahrain Economic Development Board (Bahrain EDB) is holding November 1-2 at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay. Spanning aviation logistics, real estate and technology, the projects are meant to advance the kingdom’s economic diversification and long-term growth. More than 200 ministers, senior government officials, executives and investors attended to explore investment opportunities and partnerships across the Gulf.
DHL secured a license to build its first and only regional maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at Bahrain International Airport, reinforcing its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) hub in the kingdom while backing its growing fleet and expanding global operations capacity. Capital A, the holding company behind AirAsia, won licenses for three aviation ventures aimed at improving connectivity to the Far East and Europe, gradually expanding air-cargo capacity, and building aircraft MRO capability in the country — moves meant to strengthen Bahrain’s position as a regional aviation hub.
Hotel group Meliá, partnering with local developer Infracorp, received a license for a seafront project in Amwaj combining a five-star hotel with Meliá-branded residences, adding to Bahrain’s premium tourism and lifestyle offering. The fourth license went to Bahrain Digital City, a planned hub for information and communications technology, innovation and education meant to draw cluster-based tech companies, accelerate sector growth and expand the kingdom’s digital ecosystem.
Bahrain EDB framed the licenses as flowing from its “Team Bahrain” public-private partnership model, in which the board acts as a bridge between investors and government. The board noted non-oil activity already accounts for about 86% of Bahrain’s GDP, a diversified base it says supports sustainable long-term growth.
Why it matters
The licenses add to a steady run of foreign investment into Bahrain’s aviation, real estate and technology sectors, and the Digital City project in particular signals the kingdom is competing for the tech and ICT investment other Gulf states are also courting.