US embassy cable - 04MANAMA1466

UNCLAS MANAMA 001466 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EB/CBA DWINSTEAD, DEFENSE FOR ? 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, BEXP, MARR, BA 
SUBJECT: PUBLIC WORKS AND HOUSING MINISTER: PLATE IS FULL 
BUT MORE PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE 
 
REF: MANAMA 1388 
 
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Projects Increase as Corruption Concerns Decline 
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1.  Ambassador met with Minister of Housing and Public Works 
Fahmi Bin Ali Al Jowder on September 8 to discuss new and 
ongoing projects, the Ministry,s experience with U.S. 
business partners and potential opportunities for U.S. 
business as a result of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). 
While officially now one Ministry -- Housing and Public Works 
-- the Minister manages two bureaucracies in two buildings. 
They are responsible for managing projects that account for 
some sixty to seventy percent of the GOB,s project budget. 
 
 
2.  Al Jowder said that the last three years had been 
extremely busy, reflecting both a revitalized economy after a 
1991-1999 recession and the GOB,s desire to invest in 
infrastructure.  His portfolio had also expanded in the last 
year when he took on the Housing Ministry, widely known for 
corruption.  Al Jowder admitted that he had been tasked with 
cleaning up the Ministry and that he had already pursued the 
prosecution of several staff members who had misappropriated 
land.  He also mentioned that the GOB was working on the 
creation of a Bahraini version of the U.S. General Accounting 
Office in order to improve transparency. 
 
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Opportunities for U.S. Business 
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3.  The Ambassador asked about the Ministry,s experience in 
working with U.S. business.  Al Jowder praised the work Great 
Lakes Dredging was doing in the new port, pointing out they 
completed their work four months early.  He indicated the 
Ministry would like to see the company do more in Bahrain. 
On the FTA, the Ambassador said that the next year would be 
an opportunity to put Bahrain "on the map" and that he 
expects to receive more requests from American construction 
firms for advocacy services.  The Ambassador also referred to 
the new tender law (reftel), indicating that U.S. firms would 
benefit from a more transparent process. 
 
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King Wants Army Corps of Engineers in Bahrain 
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4.  Al Jowder also mentioned the King,s interest in seeing 
the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) come to Bahrain to provide 
advisory services on a variety of projects including highway 
planning.  The King had been impressed by previous work by 
ACE at the Royal Court.  However plans were dropped when the 
payment mechanism requested by ACE clashed with Bahrain,s 
tender process.  The Ambassador indicated the Embassy would 
follow up to see what could be done.  (Note:  Embassy 
Manama,s Office of Military Cooperation (OMC) confirms that 
the proposed technical assistance to have been provided by 
ACE can only be funded as a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) 
case.  The Minister had some concerns with the funding 
mechanism, which OMC believed had been resolved through a 
series of meetings between the Minister and Embassy officials 
in June 2003.  However, the Embassy never received final 
approval from the Ministry and the FMS case (valued at USD 4 
million) expired in August 2003.  Embassy will again review 
the case with the Minister in an effort to find the necessary 
common ground to provide ACE assistance.  End Note) 
MONROE