Data Centers in Bahrain

Bahrain – Strategic Gateway for Gulf Connectivity

Executive Summary

Bahrain serves as the premier low-latency entry point for enterprises targeting the Saudi Arabian market and the wider Middle East. It offers a stable, well-regulated environment for financial services and cloud-native applications requiring high-speed regional access. Organizations looking to secure critical operations in the Gulf find Bahrain a resilient and cost-effective alternative to larger regional hubs.

Bahrain: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Bahrain functions as a critical interconnection point for the Middle East, supported by a growing number of international subsea cable landings.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: Carrier count: over 5. The market features ~5–10 carriers as of December 2025. Most facilities support carrier-neutral policies, providing diverse path options for redundant networking.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: Over 2, enabling access to 1 cloud regions as of December 2025. Localized on-ramps include AWS, ensuring high-speed private connections for hybrid cloud architectures.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Manama-IX is the primary exchange, keeping local traffic efficient and reducing latency for regional users. This exchange facilitates efficient peering for content providers and local ISPs.

Bare Metal: High-performance compute options are available through providers such as Latitude.sh as of December 2025. These services allow for rapid scaling without the overhead of managing physical hardware.

Power Analysis

Bahrain provides a predictable power environment for industrial users, though it remains heavily dependent on traditional energy sources.

Average Cost Of Power: Rates typically range from BHD 0.03 to BHD 0.05/kWh as of December 2025. The energy mix consists of ~99.75% fossil fuels and ~0.25% renewables. This pricing structure remains stable and supports the high energy demands of dense server environments.

Power Grid Reliability: The electrical grid in Manama and surrounding industrial areas is well-engineered with multi-substation support. Redundant transmission lines ensure consistent uptime for critical data center operations.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

The business environment in Bahrain is built for international trade and regional distribution.

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are located near the Manama Financial Harbour and the Seef District. This placement is vital for fintech and banking sectors that require minimal latency for high-frequency transactions.

Regional Market Reach: Bahrain provides the fastest terrestrial link to Saudi Arabia via the King Fahd Causeway. This allows companies to serve the largest economy in the Gulf while maintaining operations in a highly deregulated business environment.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: The primary financial benefit is the absence of corporate income tax for most entities, which significantly reduces operational overhead. This favorable structure helps customers reinvest capital into infrastructure rather than tax liabilities.

Natural Disaster Risk

Bahrain maintains a Low risk profile with an overall score of 1.8/10 as of December 2025. This makes it one of the safest locations in the region for physical infrastructure.

Coastal Flood (5.3): This represents the highest natural hazard score due to the island geography, though modern facilities use elevated designs to mitigate impact.

Epidemic (4.1): Regional health risks are monitored but do not directly impact data center structural integrity.

Human Factors (2.5): General localized risks remain low compared to broader regional averages.

Earthquake (0.1): Seismic activity is almost non-existent, ensuring the stability of physical server racks.

Other natural hazards, such as river flooding or tropical cyclones, are minor or not listed for this geography.