The economic development of Bahrain has improved the standard of living of its population significant over the last decades. Government policies were and continue to be geared towards promoting higher standards of living and improving the quality of life of its population. One of the most important focuses of the government in the endeavor to improve the quality of life for the Bahraini population (besides the provision of general urban facilities) was and continues to be its housing programme.

In 1975 the Ministry of Housing was established with the aim of bolstering the provision of houses to the population. In 1995 the Ministry was expanded and the Municipalities and Environment were brought under its institutional roof, allowing for an institutional set-up that potentially facilitated the preparation of comprehensive and integrated polices and programmes to improve the quality of life of the residents.

'Provide a house for every Bahraini family that does not own one or is incapable of building such a house has been the motto of Ministry of Housing, Municipalities and Environment (MOHME) for the past 25 years. The project and programmes implemented over the years have assured a decent house to a large part of the Bahraini population. So far around 60% of all Bahraini families have been provided with a house. In total more than 37.000 families have so far benefited of the services made available by the Ministry. These services include housing, schemes, houses, plots, flats and loans. The services have cost around BD 800 million (US$ 2.122 billion) inclusive community services and infrastructure. Around 44% of all dwelling units in Bahrain were contributed by the government.

Although this is clearly a tremendous effort, and the Government of Bahrain has to be complimented for its social consciousness, the number of applicants on the waiting list for the above mentioned services, seems not to be diminishing. With the waiting period continuing to increase and the available budget slowly decreasing, the government is now looking for innovative approaches to tackle this challenge.

The challenges urban policy makers in Bahrain are facing are of pressing urgency and include a fast growing population, an over-demand on the housing market which is expected to grow, a more and more increasing scarcity of finance and land, and a government apparatus that has to deal with many other aspects of development including social and economic development. It is this increasing pressure on government resources (financial, institutional as well as human) that initiated an effort to rethink the role of government from provider to facilitator or enabler.

The role that government in general and the Ministry of Housing, Municipalities and Environment will assume will in a major way influence the success in dealing with the issues that the coming millennium will bring.

These Y2K issues will most likely include the paradigm shift of government as provider to facilitator, the diversification of the economy based on the development of Bahrain's strengths like its regional financial and education Centre function, and the involvement of the private sector in realizing its development plans. This will have to be combined with a continues effort of securing the quality of life for its resident through the development of sustainable communities, the access to affordable housing and thus land, and efficient transportation means.