meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

The region’s most ambitious causeway projects

8 February 2023

 

The submission of feedback questionnaires and meetings with contractors for the planned second causeway connecting Saudi Arabia and Bahrain is the latest sign of potential progress on one of the region’s largest infrastructure projects.

Causeways have a chequered history in the region. The first causeway connecting Saudi Arabia and Bahrain was completed during the 1980s, and since then, it has had a transformative impact on the Bahraini economy. 

The project’s success has inspired other causeways. But while these schemes remain ambitions for many in the region, construction progress has been limited. The hope is that a successful second causeway linking Saudi Arabia and Bahrain will foster the delivery of other longstanding causeway plans.

These are the most ambitious causeway schemes that the region has planned:

 Second Saudi Arabia-Bahrain causeway

The second causeway between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain is the most likely to proceed. Planned by the King Fahd Causeway Authority, the $3.5bn project, which has been called the King Hamad Causeway project, is moving towards construction.

In 2021, senior government officials in Bahrain told MEED that the project was progressing towards tendering as financial studies had been completed.

The project was included in Bahrain’s $30bn Strategic Projects Plan that was announced later in 2021. As well as the causeway, the plan includes building new urban areas on five reclaimed islands to increase the country’s total land area by 60 per cent. It also comprises plans for a new airport.

The second causeway involves building a 25-kilometre road and rail crossing linking Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. It will follow the same alignment as the existing King Fahd Causeway.

It has been earmarked for delivery on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. The King Fahd Causeway Authority appointed a consortium to provide transaction advisory services in late 2019.

The $8.9m consultancy agreement was signed with a consortium of Netherlands-headquartered KPMG, US-based Aecom and UK-based CMS. The team was tasked with working on developing the financing model, the required engineering specifications and design, as well as helping with the assessment and selection of the project’s developers.

Canada-based SNC Lavalin and UK-based consultancy firm PwC conducted the project due diligence study in 2017.

The existing King Fahd Causeway is operating at capacity. About 11.5 million cars cross the causeway every year, and the growth has been 6 per cent per annum over the past 10 years.

 Qatar-Bahrain causeway

There have also been suggestions that the proposed causeway bridging Bahrain and Qatar may be revived. In March 2022, Manama called for work to restart on the causeway joining the two countries.

“We in the Kingdom of Bahrain renew the call for the start of bilateral talks between the two sides in accordance with the mechanisms agreed upon in the Al-Ula statement,” said Bahrain’s undersecretary for land transportation and post in an official statement published by the official Bahrain News Agency.

The estimated $4bn Qatar-Bahrain causeway project was put on hold and the contracting consortium demobilised in 2010.

A joint venture of state-owned developer Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company and French contractor Vinci Construction Grand Projets led the consortium. The other consortium members were Germany’s Hochtief, Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), Dredging International from Belgium and the local Middle East Dredging Company (Medco).

The planned 40km bridge includes a four-lane motor crossing scheduled for completion in 2013 and two railway lines forming part of the GCC rail network.

The project also comprises 22km of bridges and viaducts, 18km of embankments and two 400-metre cable-stayed bridges. The causeway connects Ras Ashairij on the west coast of Qatar to Askar on the east coast of Bahrain.

The project was also known as the Friendship Bridge and was to be jointly funded by the Qatari and Bahraini governments, which intended to recover some of the construction costs by implementing a toll system on the bridge.

The crossing would cut the journey time between the two countries, which currently involves a detour through Saudi Arabia, from five hours to just 30 minutes.

 Saudi Arabia-Egypt causeway

The prospects for the causeway connecting the $500bn Neom project in Saudi Arabia and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula across the Straits of Tiran improved last year after US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia.

After the visit, a joint communique issued by Washington and Riyadh referred to the development of Tiran Island.

“President Biden welcomed the arrangements by Saudi Arabia to remove the Multinational Force & Observers (MFO) from the Island of Tiran, including the removal of US troops there as part of the MFO mission, while preserving and continuing all existing commitments and procedures in the area,” it said. 

“This area of the Red Sea will now be developed for tourism and economic purposes, contributing to a more secure, peaceful and prosperous region.” 

The US-Egyptian-Israeli-backed MFO was founded in 1981 to oversee the terms of the 1978 Camp David Accords, which included the full Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula.

In 2016, Egypt and Saudi Arabia agreed during a state visit to Cairo by King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud to develop a causeway linking the two countries across the Red Sea. 

The agreement was made as part of a broader deal that would also involve Egypt ceding the sovereignty of the two Tiran islands to Saudi Arabia.

While details of the proposed crossing were never revealed at the time, it was understood to be a revival of a $4bn project announced in 2011. That scheme involved building a 32km crossing stretching over the Straits of Tiran from Ras Humaid in Tabuk, in the northern region of Saudi Arabia, to Ras Nasrani, close to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Plans to link Saudi Arabia and Egypt are far from new. The development of a causeway was first mooted as far back as 1988. However, the idea has received additional focus in recent years following the launch of the Neom development in northwestern Saudi Arabia, which includes Ras Humaid. Part of the Neom scheme, the 170km-long linear city known as The Line, will extend from the promontory inland to the city of Tabuk.

UK-based Arup was reported to have been selected in 2019 for the next stage of the feasibility study for the causeway. 

Saudi Arabia was understood to be considering using a public-private partnership (PPP) model for the scheme, similar to other transport projects planned in and around the kingdom.

 Yemen-Djibouti causeway

A 28.5km causeway was planned to connect Yemen and Djibouti before the scheme was put on hold in 2010 until the governments of both countries signed the framework agreement for the project. The civil war in Yemen means it is unlikely the scheme will make any progress soon.

The estimated $20bn first phase involved building the link between the Yemeni mainland to the island of Perim in the Red Sea. Phase two would have then connected Perim with Djibouti.

The wider project also involves building two cities at each end of the link. The total investment required to construct the cities and the bridge is $200bn.

Dubai-based Al-Noor Holding Investment Company was developing the project.

In 2009, the company said it expected to award a build-operate-transfer contract for the first phase of the bridge and that three companies had expressed interest in funding and building the road and rail link. Denmark’s Cowi prepared the preliminary design for the crossing.

 UAE-Qatar causeway

In 2005, Abu Dhabi and Doha were reported to have been setting up a joint company to oversee the implementation of the proposed UAE/Qatar causeway.

The 40km causeway was expected to start near Sila in Abu Dhabi emirate and extend to the south of Doha.

The estimated $13bn crossing would have significantly cut journey times. At present, traffic between Qatar and the UAE has to pass through 125km of Saudi Arabian territory.

The scheme stalled shortly afterwards. Problems included difficulties with the route, which ran through Saudi Arabian territorial waters.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10571464/main.jpg
Colin Foreman

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Bidders await NWC decision on sewage contract

    17 February 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company (NWC) is evaluating five bids for package 12 of its long-term operations and maintenance (LTOM12) sewage treatment programme.

    Known as the North Western B Cluster, LTOM12 forms part of the second phase of NWC’s rehabilitation of sewage treatment plants programme.

    The contract covers the construction and upgrade of seven sewage treatment plants with a combined capacity of about 162,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

    As MEED understands, the companies that have submitted proposals include:

    • Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies (Saudi Arabia)
    • Civil Works Company (Saudi Arabia)
    • Miahona (Saudi Arabia)
    • Beijing Enterprises Water Group – BEWG (Hong Kong)
    • Al-Yamama (Saudi Arabia)

    Earlier this month, MEED exclusively reported that six contractors are competing for the North Western A Cluster Sewage Treatment Plants Package 11 (LTOM11), which has an estimated value of about $211m.

    The project involves the construction and upgrade of two sewage treatment plants with a combined capacity of about 440,000 cm/d.

    The scheme is being procured on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis with a long-term operations component. 

    It is understood that contracts for LTOM11 and LTOM12 will be awarded in May.

    In January, a consortium of United Water (China), Prosus Energy (UAE) and Armada Holding (Saudi Arabia) won the main contract for the Northern Cluster Sewage Treatment Plants Package 10 (LTOM10).

    This contract was the first to be awarded under the second phase of NWC’s rehabilitation of sewage treatment plants programme.

    NWC previously awarded $2.7bn-worth of contracts for the first phase of its LTOM programme. This comprises nine packages covering the treatment of 4.6 million cm/d of sewage water for the next 15 years.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15670141/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Dubai tenders Al-Maktoum airport superstructure

    17 February 2026

     

    Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) has tendered three packages covering superstructure works for the first phase of the expansion of Al-Maktoum International airport.

    Interested bidders have until 23 March to submit their proposals.

    MEED understands that the selected contractor will undertake superstructure works on three packages:

    • West Terminal and concourse one
    • Concourse two
    • Concourse three

    Construction on these packages began in November last year, when DAEP formally selected a contractor to deliver the substructure works.

    According to an official description on DAEP’s website, the expanded airport’s West Terminal will be a seven-level, 800,000-square-metre facility with an annual capacity of 45 million passengers.

    It will be the second of three terminals at Al-Maktoum International airport, linked to the airside by a 14-station automated people-mover (APM) system.

    In August, MEED exclusively reported that DAEP had received bids from firms to build the APM at the airport. 

    The system will run under the apron of the entire airfield and the airport’s terminals. It will consist of several tracks, taking passengers from the terminals to the concourses.

    Four underground stations will be built as part of the first phase. The overall plan includes 14 stations across the airport.

    The airport’s construction is planned to be undertaken in three phases. The airport will cover an area of 70 square kilometres (sq km) south of Dubai and will have five parallel runways, five terminal buildings and 400 aircraft gates.

    It will be five times the size of the existing Dubai International airport and will have the world’s largest passenger-handling capacity of 260 million passengers a year. For cargo, it will have the capacity to handle 12 million tonnes a year.

    Construction progress

    Construction on the first phase has already begun. In May last year, MEED exclusively reported that DAEP had awarded a AED1bn ($272m) deal to UAE firm Binladin Contracting Group to construct the second runway at the airport.

    The enabling works on the terminal are also ongoing and are being undertaken by Abu Dhabi-based Tristar E&C.

    Construction on the project’s first phase is expected to be completed by 2032.

    The government approved the updated designs and timelines for its largest construction project in April 2024.

    In a statement, the authorities said the plan is for all operations from Dubai International airport to be transferred to Al-Maktoum International within 10 years.

    The statement added that the project will create housing demand for 1 million people around the airport.

    In September 2024, MEED exclusively reported that a team comprising Austria’s Coop Himmelb(l)au and Lebanon’s Dar Al-Handasah had been confirmed as the lead masterplanning and design consultants on the expansion of Al-Maktoum airport.

    Project history

    The expansion of Al-Maktoum International, also known as Dubai World Central (DWC), is a long-standing project. It was officially launched in 2014, with a different design from the one approved in April 2024. At that time, it involved building the biggest airport in the world by 2050, with the capacity to handle 255 million passengers a year.

    An initial phase, due to be completed in 2030, involved increasing the airport’s capacity to 130 million passengers a year. The development was to cover an area of 56 sq km.

    Progress on the project slipped as the region grappled with the impact of lower oil prices and Dubai focused on developing the Expo 2020 site. Tendering for work on the project then stalled with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15669879/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Contractors submit revised prices for Habshan 7 project

    17 February 2026

     

    Adnoc Gas has received revised commercial proposals from contractors for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on a major project to add a new gas processing train at its Habshan complex in Abu Dhabi.

    Adnoc Gas, the natural gas processing business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Group), processes about 10 billion standard cubic feet a day (cf/d) of gas across several sites, including its Asab, Bab, Bu Hasa and Habshan facilities, as well as a natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation plant at Ruwais.

    The Habshan complex is one of the largest gas processing facilities in the UAE and across the Middle East and North Africa. Its output capacity is 6.1 billion cf/d. The complex comprises five trains and 14 processing units that receive gas feedstock from onshore and offshore fields in Abu Dhabi.

    With Adnoc Group pressing ahead with its P5 programme to raise oil production potential to 5 million barrels a day by 2027, high volumes of associated gas are set to enter the grid.

    The new train at the Habshan complex, which Adnoc Gas expects to commission in 2029, will play a key role in handling these additional gas volumes.

    MEED previously reported that contractors had submitted commercial bids for the new Habshan 7 gas train project to Adnoc Gas by the deadline of 10 December.

    Following an initial evaluation of commercial bids received, Adnoc Gas sought “best offers” from contractors for the project. Bidders submitted their revised prices by 6 February, according to sources.

    The following contractors are understood to be competing for the Habshan 7 project’s main EPC contract, as per sources:

    • Enppi (Egypt) / Petrojet (Egypt)
    • Jereh (China)
    • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)
    • Petrofac (UK)
    • Sinopec (China)
    • Wison Engineering (China)

    MEED previously reported that contractors submitted technical bids for the project to Adnoc Gas by the deadline of 6 October.

    Adnoc Gas intends to install the Habshan 7 train adjacent to the Habshan 5 train. This will enable the new train to utilise the ullage in the Habshan 5 sulphur recovery and tail gas treatment units and optimise operations.

    The scope of work on the Habshan 7 gas train project covers the EPC of the following units:

    • New high-pressure pipeline from the main Habshan complex to the new gas train
    • Separation and condensate stabiliser unit
    • Acid gas removal unit
    • Mercury removal unit
    • Deep NGL recovery unit
    • Sales gas and residue gas compressor
    • NGL product storage and transfer pump, as well as metering skid
    • Utility units (IA, N2, PW, FW, steam generation, DM)
    • Flare unit, to be located in Habshan 5 on common derrick
    • Flare gas recovery package
    • Water treatment package
    • Non-process buildings, to be located outside the Habshan 5 train
    • Power generation system
    • NGL pipeline from Habshan 5 to Ruwais, based on an existing pipeline assessment
    • Sales gas pipeline from Habshan 5 to sales gas network.

    UK-headquartered Wood Group has performed the concept study and initial engineering design for the project.

    The Habshan 7 gas train project represents the third phase of Adnoc Gas’ Rich Gas Development programme and is estimated to be valued at $3.5bn-$4bn, according to the company’s chief financial officer, Peter Van Driel.

    In a recent call with journalists to discuss Adnoc Gas’ financial results for the full year and fourth quarter of 2025, Van Driel said Adnoc Gas expects to achieve a final investment decision on the Habshan 7 gas train project, which is designed to increase the company’s production of high-value liquids such as liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha and condensates, in the first quarter of 2026.

    Adnoc Gas issued the main EPC tender for the new Habshan 7 gas train project to contractors between 5 and 8 August, MEED previously reported. It later extended the initial technical bid submission deadline from mid‑September to 6 October.

    In April, MEED reported that Adnoc Gas had started an early engagement process with contractors for the EPC tendering phase of the Habshan 7 gas train project.

    Prior to that, Adnoc Gas issued an expression of interest (EoI) document for the project in March, to which contractors submitted responses by 8 April.

    Separately, Adnoc Gas also completed the EoI exercise for early civil and site preparation works on the Habshan 7 project in June, and is understood to have issued the main tender in the third quarter.

    ALSO READ: Adnoc Gas stalls decision on Ruwais NGL project

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15663150/main5247.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Dubai seeks contractors for Jebel Ali STP expansion

    16 February 2026

    Dubai Municipality has invited contractors to prequalify for a contract covering the expansion of the Jebel Ali sewage treatment plant (STP) phases one and two.

    The upgraded facility will be capable of treating an additional sewage flow of 100,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

    The scope includes the design, construction and commissioning of infrastructure and systems required to support the increased capacity.

    The bid submission deadline is 2 April.

    Located on a 670-hectare site in Jebel Ali, the original wastewater facility has a treatment capacity of about 675,000 cm/d following the completion of phase two in 2019, combining approximately 300,000 cm/d from phase one and 375,000 cm/d from phase two.

    As MEED understands, the project is part of long-term plans to treat about 1.05 million cm/d a day once all future phases are completed.

    The main element of the expansion, which is estimated to cost $300m, involves modifications to the secondary treatment process at Jebel Ali STP phase two.

    This includes conversion to Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor or Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge systems.

    The project also includes decommissioning existing surface aerators. New blowers and associated works will be installed as part of the upgrade.

    UK-headquartered KPMG and UAE-based Tribe Infrastructure are serving as financial advisers on the project.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15661388/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • AD Ports to develop Douala port in Cameroon

    16 February 2026

    Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group and Africa Ports Development (APD) have signed an agreement to design, build and operate a new dry bulk terminal at the Port of Douala in Cameroon.

    AD Ports Group will invest about AED320m ($87m) in the development of the terminal’s first phase, which will comprise two berths and more than 450 metres of quay wall, with an annual handling capacity of about 4 million tonnes of dry bulk cargo.

    Construction is expected to begin this year, and the first phase is slated for completion in 2028.

    The concession period is 30 years.

    AD Ports Group has committed to long-term investments and operations across Africa, including in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola and the Republic of the Congo.

    The latest announcement comes shortly after it signed an agreement with Jordan’s Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) to manage and operate the Aqaba multipurpose port.

    AD Ports will manage and operate the port under a 30-year concession agreement.

    In December last year, AD Ports Group signed a shareholder agreement with Tajikistan’s private industrial firm Avesto Group to establish a new joint venture that will provide integrated logistics and freight forwarding services across Tajikistan.

    Under the agreement, the joint venture will initially operate as an asset-light freight forwarder. It will have exclusive rights to consolidate and manage all freight and logistics activities across Avesto Group’s subsidiaries, while also offering services to third-party customers in the wider market.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15661385/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal