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
  • Momentum builds for Syrian projects

    25 May 2026

     

    Support from the US, as well as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has increased expectations about the development of infrastructure projects in Syria.

    On 22 May, the US published guides to investing in Syria, funded by the US Department of State, that pointed investors towards 590 planned projects in the country.

    The permanent removal of US sanctions in December last year, combined with fallout from the closure and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, has boosted interest in planned projects in the country.

    Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.

    The route normally transports about 11 million barrels a day of oil and around 20% of the world’s liquefied natural gas, as well as a range of other key materials and consumer goods.

    The disruption to shipping through the strait has left nations in the Middle East scrambling to find new routes for imports and exports – and Syria plays a role in many of these new plans.

    This has bolstered the country’s plans to become a regional trade hub.

    Energy corridors

    Already, Iraq is moving a large volume of oil by truck across the country to export it from Syria’s Mediterranean ports, such as Latakia or Tartous.

    In April, Iraq’s state-owned oil marketing company, Somo, said it had awarded contracts to supply about 650,000 metric tonnes of fuel oil per month for overland trucking across Syria.

    On top of this, Iraq is currently looking into reestablishing a pipeline route that transported oil from Kirkuk to the port of Baniyas in Syria.

    The pipeline originally went into operation in April 1952.

    During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the pipeline was damaged by US air strikes and has remained out of operation since then.

    There have been repeated attempts to either refurbish the existing pipeline or build a new one along the same route, but none has been successful.

    In December 2007, Syria and Iraq agreed to rehabilitate the pipeline. The pipeline was to be reconstructed by Stroytransgaz, a subsidiary of Russia’s Gazprom.

    However, Stroytransgaz failed to start the rehabilitation, and the contract was nullified in April 2009.

    The disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has added a new urgency to the project to reestablish pipeline flows from Iraq to Baniyas.

    Syria could also play a role in plans for a pipeline to transport gas from Qatar to Europe via Syria and Turkiye.

    The country could additionally form part of plans to rehabilitate and expand the Arab Gas Pipeline.

    The pipeline connects Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, although the Lebanese section is not currently operational.

    Trade routes

    Beyond oil and gas, Syria is emerging as a key part of other plans for new trade routes.

    Earlier this month, Syria’s Transport Minister Yarub Badr said the country was seeking to restore its role as a regional transit corridor linking Europe and the Gulf by reviving cross-border trucking and rehabilitating railway connections with neighbouring countries.

    He said the overland corridor between the Turkish and Jordanian borders handled between 100,000 and 115,000 trucks annually in both directions before 2011. Freight rail services also operated between Tartous port and Iraq’s Umm Qasr port via Baghdad in 2009, he added.

    He said Syria was coordinating with Turkiye, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to simplify customs and border-crossing procedures and facilitate freight movement.

    Railway rehabilitation is expected to take longer due to extensive infrastructure damage and the suspension of cross-border rail links over the past decade.

    Badr said Syria is working with the World Bank to secure grants ranging between $65m and $200m to support railway rehabilitation and restore Syria’s role as a regional transit route linking Turkiye, Syria, Jordan and Iraq.

    Earlier this month, Syria’s state-owned railway company, the General Establishment for Syrian Railways, and the operator of Syria’s Latakia International Container Terminal signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate container traffic between the Mediterranean port of Latakia and inland freight hubs.

    The framework covers feasibility studies for moving containers by rail from Latakia to dry ports in Adra, Hasiya and Aleppo.

    The feasibility studies are expected to take four months to complete.

    Tartous port

    Also this month, executives from the UAE’s DP World and Syria’s General Authority for Borders and Customs (GABC) met to discuss accelerating the development of Syria’s Port of Tartous.

    Essa Kazim, chairman of DP World, met with Qutaiba Ahmed Badawi, chairman of GABC, to discuss opportunities to enhance infrastructure and logistics efficiency, ensuring the Port of Tartous is well-equipped to handle the anticipated rise in trade and cargo volume.

    DP World’s plans to develop the Port of Tartous form part of a 30-year concession agreement signed in July 2025 with the Syrian government.

    Under the agreement, DP World committed to invest $800m to upgrade infrastructure, expand capacity, and introduce modern cargo-handling and advanced digital systems.

    DP World has said that, by fast-tracking the development of the Port of Tartous, it aims to boost its operational efficiency and capacity to handle diverse cargo types, including general cargo, containers, breakbulk and roll-on/roll-off traffic.

    Rizwan Soomar, DP World’s chief executive and managing director for Central Asia, the Levant and Egypt, said: “The Port of Tartous development marks a defining moment in Syria’s journey of economic recovery and modernisation of its trade infrastructure. We are proud to contribute to this vital phase of growth.”

    Located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, the Port of Tartus is the country’s second-largest port and a key maritime gateway to trade routes across Europe, the Levant and North Africa.

    Beyond the port itself, DP World is exploring other opportunities to develop infrastructure in Syria with local stakeholders. These include logistics zones, inland freight hubs and transit corridors.

    US interest

    US-based companies are also showing significant interest in participating in new projects in the country.

    On 19 May, a delegation from the Houston-headquartered engineering company KBR travelled to Damascus to discuss road networks and infrastructure projects in Syria.

    During one meeting, Syria’s transport minister outlined strategic projects currently underway, including north-south and east-west corridor projects, the Damascus-Aleppo highway and railway initiatives.

    Badr said that companies were needed to update economic and technical studies for some projects.

    While Syria and the US both have bold ambitions to expand Syria into a regional trade and logistics hub, the poor state of the country’s infrastructure is likely to be a key challenge.

    It is likely that billions of dollars will need to be invested to rehabilitate the country so that its capacity to transport goods returns to levels seen prior to the civil war that began in March 2011.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16975219/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Alec confirms Sphere Abu Dhabi contract award

    25 May 2026

    Alec Holdings has confirmed that its subsidiary Alec Engineering & Contracting has received a letter of award for the construction contract for the $1.7bn Sphere Abu Dhabi project.

    MEED had previously reported that Alec was the selected contractor and had been working on the project during the pre-construction phase. The construction is due to be completed in the third quarter of the financial year 2029.

    Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture & Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi) and US-based Sphere Entertainment announced earlier in May that they have selected Yas Island as the location for the project.

    The venue will be built on a plot between Yas Mall and SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, close to Yas Island’s theme parks and attractions. The project will be the first Sphere venue outside the US. It is expected to echo the scale of Sphere Las Vegas, with a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on configuration.

    DCT and Sphere Entertainment finalised an agreement last year for the construction, development and operation of the Sphere entertainment venue in Abu Dhabi. According to the agreement, Sphere Entertainment granted DCT the exclusive rights to build and operate the Sphere Abu Dhabi entertainment venue.

    > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16973522/main.jpg
    Colin Foreman
  • Consultant wins Jeddah metro design

    22 May 2026

     

    French engineering firm Egis has been appointed to undertake the preliminary design consultancy for the Jeddah Metro Blue Line project.

    The project client, Jeddah Development Authority, issued the tender in early January, when MEED exclusively reported that Saudi Arabia had restarted plans to build the Jeddah Metro.

    Engineering consulting firms submitted bids in April, as MEED reported.

    The Blue Line will run from King Abdulaziz International airport and connect to the Haramain high-speed railway station.

    The line will be 35 kilometres (km) long and will include 15 stations.

    Project history

    Plans for the Jeddah Metro were first publicly floated in the early 2010s and were formally packaged into a wider Jeddah public transport programme around 2013-14.

    In 2014, French engineering firm Systra was appointed to complete preliminary engineering for the Jeddah Metro, as MEED reported at the time.

    In the same year, US-based engineering firm Aecom was awarded a SR276m ($74m) contract to provide pre-programme management consultancy services.

    Under its 18-month contract, Aecom was expected to provide staff to support preliminary planning and design work for various phases of the metro project.

    This was followed by the appointment of UK-based architectural firm Foster + Partners in 2015 to design the metro stations.

    The project then stalled as government spending priorities were reset and major capital programmes were reviewed following the fall in oil prices in 2015, with the metro’s scope, cost and delivery model coming under reassessment.

    Early concept designs envisaged a multi-line network integrated with buses and, later, other city-wide mobility upgrades.

    Route details

    According to Jeddah Transport Company’s website, the scheme comprises 81 stations and 197 trains serving more than 161km. The network will have four lines:

    • Orange Line: a 44.8km line running along Al-Madinah Road and Old Makkah Road, with 29 stops including one at Obhur Bridge
    • Blue Line: a 35km line running from King Abdulaziz International airport to the Haramain high-speed railway station, with 15 stations
    • Green Line: a 17km line running through the city centre, from the downtown area to the Haramain railway station, with nine stops
    • Red Line: A 59.7km line running from King Abdullah Stadium north to Old Makkah Street through King Abdulaziz Road and King Abdullah Road, with 25 stops

    > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16949416/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Expo Riyadh tenders Saudi Arabia pavilion

    22 May 2026

     

    Expo 2030 Riyadh Company (ERC), tasked with delivering the Expo 2030 Riyadh venue, has tendered a contract to build the Saudi Arabia pavilion at the site.

    The tender was issued on 19 May, with a bid submission deadline of 26 August.

    The pavilion is a major asset located within the KSA District on the eastern side of the Expo 2030 Riyadh masterplan, within the Loop of Nations district.

    The tendering of the pavilion structure follows swift progress on the site’s infrastructure development works.

    In April, ERC awarded two contracts for the next phase of infrastructure works at the site to local firm Al-Yamama Company.

    The scope covers the construction of road networks and infrastructure for water, sewage, electricity, telecommunications and electric vehicle charging.

    These awards followed ERC’s January award of an estimated SR1bn ($267m) contract for initial infrastructure works at the site to local firm Nesma & Partners. That scope covers about 50 kilometres of integrated infrastructure networks, including internal roads and essential utilities such as water, sewage, electrical and communication systems, and electric vehicle charging stations.

    The overall infrastructure works – covering the construction of main utilities and civil works at Expo 2030 Riyadh – are split into three packages:

    • Lot 1 covers the main utilities corridor
    • Lot 2 includes the northern cluster of the nature corridor
    • Lot 3 comprises the southern cluster of the nature corridor 

    The masterplan encompasses an area of 6 square kilometres, making it one of the largest sites designated for a World Expo event. Situated to the north of the Saudi capital, the site will be located near the future King Salman International airport, and will provide direct access to various landmarks within Riyadh.

    The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, launched ERC – a wholly owned subsidiary – in June last year to build and operate facilities for Expo 2030.

    MEED’s April 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

    > COMMENT: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift
    > GVT &: ECONOMY: Riyadh navigates a changed landscape
    > BANKING: Testing times for Saudi banks
    > UPSTREAM: Offshore oil and gas projects to dominate Aramco capex in 2026
    > DOWNSTREAM: Saudi downstream projects market enters lean period
    > POWER: Wind power gathers pace in Saudi Arabia
    > WATER: Sharakat plan signals next phase of Saudi water expansion
    > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction enters a period of strategic readjustment
    > TRANSPORT: Rail expansion powers Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure push

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16949696/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Egypt signs gas deal with QatarEnergy and Exxon Mobil

    22 May 2026

    Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources has signed a preliminary gas agreement with state-owned QatarEnergy and US-based Exxon Mobil.

    The memorandum of understanding (MoU) focuses on cooperation in the development of natural gas discoveries in Cyprus.

    The plan involves transporting gas from offshore discoveries in Cypriot waters to Egypt via pipelines.

    In a statement, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources said that the deal would strengthen the North African country’s status as a regional hub for natural gas trading.

    The agreement was witnessed by Egypt’s Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli.

    It was signed by Muhammad Al-Bajouri, from the legal affairs department of the Ministry of Petroleum & Minerals, and Kanan Nariman, vice-president for the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Exxon Mobil.

    It was also signed by Ali Immunae, director of international exploration and production at QatarEnergy.

    Commenting on the MoU signing, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the minister of state for energy affairs, and president and chief executive of QatarEnergy, said: “This MoU represents an important step in advancing regional energy cooperation across the Eastern Mediterranean through unlocking the long-term commercial potential of natural gas resources across that region.”

    Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources said the agreement paved the way for QatarEnergy and Exxon to take advantage of existing Egyptian infrastructure in the gas sector, especially the country’s existing LNG export terminals.

    Under the terms of the agreement, a study will be conducted to analyse the feasibility of linking the gas discoveries in Cyprus to Egypt’s gas facilities.

    The signatories will also establish a commercial framework aimed at achieving “the maximum possible benefit from natural gas resources in both Egypt and Cyprus”.

    Egypt’s Minister of Oil and Gas Karim Badawi said the ministry has been working with ExxonMobil to explore cooperation on the development of gas discoveries in Cyprus.

    He said the partnership with Egypt would help QatarEnergy and Exxon reduce the cost of developing the discoveries while allowing Egypt to achieve an economic return.

    READ THE MAY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16944918/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp