Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, President of the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) in the Kingdom of Bahrain, announced the commencement of the "Kafa’a" programme across 12 government buildings, as part of a broader plan targeting 20 government buildings and 14 private buildings in 2025.
This national initiative supports the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to optimise energy efficiency, reduce operational costs, and lower carbon emissions across public and private sector facilities.
Reducing carbon emissions is one of the programme’s primary objectives, targeting a savings of approximately 308 gigawatt-hours in electricity consumption and a reduction of nearly 154,000 tonnes of emissions by 2040, making it one of the Kingdom’s key national projects in support of carbon neutrality efforts.
The tender for the first group of government buildings has been awarded to energy services companies (ESCOs), which will implement the required efficiency measures in collaboration with EWA. Simultaneously, the Authority has initiated the tendering process for a second group of government buildings and issued a separate tender for private sector facilities, marking an expansion of the programme across key sectors in Bahrain.
Upon implementation, the programme is projected to deliver annual electricity savings of approximately 37 gigawatt-hours, financial savings of over BD 1 million, and a reduction of nearly 19,000 tonnes in carbon emissions each year
"Kafa’a" is a strategic national project designed to enhance energy efficiency across high-consumption facilities in both the public and private sectors. The programme works in partnership with ESCOs specialised companies that provide energy auditing, performance monitoring, and financing solutions. EWA oversees the execution, monitors impact, and ensures the achievement of projected savings in accordance with contractual commitments, supporting the Kingdom’s sustainability goals and its net-zero ambitions by 2060.
The programme was officially launched in December 2023 following a resolution by the Cabinet, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister. The launch followed the success of a pilot project that recorded a 41% reduction in energy consumption, a 39% decrease in utility bills, and an annual reduction of 5,430 tonnes in carbon emissions across selected government facilities.