The number of Bahraini families waiting for a home is expected to touch 84,500 by 2021 compared to the current figure of 32,702, according to reports. The Works and Housing Minister Fahmi Al Jowder told parliament that new schemes were being drawn to try to meet demand.

APRIL 1-6: Unicera Ceramic and Bathroom Fair, in Istanbul, Turkey. 3-6: Marble 2003, Izmir, Turkey. 15-18: HomeStyle 2003, international trade fair for home life, at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, Bahrain.

Formula One racing is back on track in Bahrain, following a U-turn by Parliament members who have now voted in favour of funding the $200 million (BD75.6m) Bahrain Racing Circuit, at their weekly session.

Belavista Overseas Investment Corporation (BOIC) is to build a $60 million resort on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea in Jordan. Jordan's Water and Irrigation Minister Hazem Nasser has signed a deal to handover 49 dunums of Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) land over to BOIC for the purpose.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited, the manufacturer of the leading home appliance brand National, has launched its new range of air conditioners, in keeping with increasing Gulf demand.

Three Bahraini consultants have submitted their bids to design the Manama suq renovation project. The price quoted by ACE Almoayyed was BD198,500 ($526,500) while the value of the bid submitted by Yousif Dawood Al Sayegh was BD240,000.

The RO65 million ($168.8 million) expansion of Seeb International airport will be tendered in the middle of this year. Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of this year, for completion in late 2006. The project offers a comprehensive phase-by-phase development of the airport's infrastructure on a long-term basis.

Construction of a new BD2.5 million ($6.6 million) air traffic control tower at Bahrain International Airport is to start shortly, for completion in a year. A contractor will be appointed soon, says Civil Aviation Affairs undersecretary Captain Abdulrahman Al Gaoud.