The proposal for a “friendship bridge” aims to connect two countries with a historically turbulent relationship, promoting the economic development of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and improving people-to-people ties.
According to the daily expressThe project officially called the Bahrain-Qatar Causeway is expected to reduce travel time from five hours to 30 minutes over a distance of 21 miles.
Initially estimated at £1.8 billion in 2008, the cost of the project has now risen to almost a whopping £2.4 billion.
The bridge will accommodate road and rail traffic and is considered a natural extension of the King Fahd Causeway, which connects Khobar, Saudi Arabia, and Al Jasra and Bahrain.
In addition, it will reach a height of 40 meters and will support maritime navigation.
“Bahrain's proximity to Qatar and the dynamism of both economies make them structurally logical trading partners, and this is reinforced by the warmth of cultural ties between the two nations,” said Dr. Omar Alubaydli of the Center for Strategic Studies. , Bahrain International and Energy. (Derasat) told Gulf Daily News (GND) in February.
The project was reportedly first approved in February 2005 to be the world's longest fixed link at the time, linking Bahrain to Qatar.
Doha and Manama, the two capitals, were on the brink of war in 1986 over disputed territories including Zubura, the Janan Islands and Fasht Al Dibal.
In 2010, the dispute over the Hawar Islands that had begun in 1936 was reignited, increasing costs and paralyzing the project.
