Work on $4bn King Hamad causeway to begin in 2021

Source: Arabianbusiness.com

The causeway connecting Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will include a rail link connecting Bahrain to the wider GCC network

Work on the new $4 billion King Hamad causeway connecting Bahrain and Saudi Arabia is expected to begin by mid-2021, according to Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Bahrain.

Speaking to Al Arabiya, ambassador Abdullah Al-Sheikh said that “the tender for the King Hamad Causeway will be launched after six months.”

“It is expected that the project execution will start by mid-2021, where it will be complete in three years,” he added.

Al-Sheikh added that the project – which is expected to cost between $3 and $4 billion – will also include a rail line connected to the wider GCC network, as vehicle as vehicle lanes and cargo trains.

In January, Bahrain Economic Development Board chief executive Khalid Al Rumaihi said that he believes Bahrain’s role in the GCC is “not well understood”, and that he believes that the kingdom can become one of several hubs in the GCC, particularly as intra-GCC trade grows.

The value of that trade has already grown from $15 billion in 2002 to more than $120 billion today, “and we think it can get to $500 billion,” he added.