Bahrain’s Labour Fund (Tamkeen) has announced its support for KKC Industries (iCOOL), a Chinese manufacturer of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) products, which will employ 50 Bahrainis.

 

The venture will help grow the HVAC manufacturing sector in the kingdom and creating high quality jobs for local talent.

 

iCOOL has set up a $10.7 million manufacturing facility in Bahrain, which will produce and export air conditioning insulation pipes to the Middle East, US and European markets. 

 

Manufacturing sector

The growing manufacturing sector is a major pillar of Bahrain’s Economic Recovery Plan, as it is the second largest contributor to the kingdom’s non-oil economy which contributes to 14% of the national GDP. The strategy aims to increase the sector’s contribution to the overall GDP, increase national exports, and create additional job opportunities. 

 

Commenting on this initiative, Maha Mofeez, Acting Chief Executive at the Labour Fund “Tamkeen”, emphasised the importance of supporting the manufacturing sector to fulfil Tamkeen’s strategic goal of driving greater economic impact for Bahrain. She stated: “iCOOL’s new manufacturing facility will create quality job opportunities for Bahrainis which upskills them for the future, and enables their career development. Furthermore, iCOOL will increase Bahrain’s exports to international markets, and provide growth opportunities for other economic sectors as they purchase their supplies locally.” 

 

Gary Xu, General Manager of iCOOL Bahrain praised Tamkeen’s support for enterprises within the manufacturing sector. He stated: “We appreciate Tamkeen’s support and look forward to working with Bahrain’s highly skilled workforce to drive our business goals. We aspire to produce 480 containers of air conditioning insulation pipes within the first year of operation, which generates over $31 million in revenue.”

 

Tamkeen support

Tamkeen extends its support for all enterprises across all economic sectors that aim to develop their offering, expand their business operations, export, innovate, and invest in local talent which will reflect positively on the national economy. 

 

Earlier this year Tamkeen unveiled an organisation-wide strategic transformation plan that included the launch of 16 support programmes for individuals and enterprises. The transformation initiative focuses on creating greater impact for Bahrain’s economy in response to market needs.-- TradeArabia News Service