During a bilateral meeting, the rulers of Bahrain and Qatar reviewed developments on the Bahrain-Qatar Causeway Project and directed authorities to complete the necessary plans to initiate the project’s immediate implementation.

The review took place during a meeting between His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani in Manama.

The two leaders also reviewed the Bahrain-Qatar partnership and ways to further bolster cooperation.

The causeway will link the northern region of Qatar to the eastern coast of Bahrain. Once completed, the 40 km Qatar-Bahrain Causeway will reduce travel times between Bahrain and Qatar from five hours to 30 minutes.

The causeway will have a dual two-lane highway, accompanied by a rail platform, featuring a total of four lanes.

The bridge project was originally planned to be built 10 years ago, but was stalled following the regional crisis involving Qatar and its trading partners.

Under a MoU signed in 2005 to launch the project, a joint institution was formed and it was entrusted with managing, maintaining and operating the causeway and investing in its facilities.

The project holds a significantly positive impact in promoting the strong and historical ties between the citizens of the two countries, and is now set to achieve both nations’ aspirations.

About half of the causeway will consist of bridges and the rest of the highway will be built on reclaimed land. Flyovers will be as high as 40m above sea level in order to allow uninterrupted ship crossings. The project is expected to take four years to build.