Traffic on the current King Fahd Causeway, which links Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. Courtesy of AFP/Getty.
The world’s longest fixed-link marine crossing has been given the go ahead, with work on the construction of a multi-billion-dollar causeway linking Bahrain to Qatar earmarked to start early next year.
The project – known as the Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Bridge - will include 22km of viaduct bridges, 18km of built-up embankments, a four-lane motorway and a rail link.
According to The National newspaper, US firm KBR will manage the project, in association with Halcrow, and the actual construction work being carried out by Germany’s Hochtief and France’s Vinci. Danish, Qatari and Greek companies are also involved.
The railway link will eventually be connected up to the wider GCC network, and should provide extensive logistics services by linking up the major industrial areas in both countries.
The road link could open by 2014, while the railway line may need another two years, said the paper. Although final specifications are likely to be revealed only in October, earlier estimates as to the cost of the entire project came in at around US $3 billion.
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