Bahrain’s Works Ministry has launched tenders for the fourth package of North Muharraq Highway Project that will see a fourth bridge being built between Muharraq and the capital Manama.

The project scope includes development of Busaiteen Link (Junctions 4 to Junction 5), Signature Bridge and related approach ramps, loop road bridge connecting the new Busaiteen Link to Phase One of the existing North Manama Causeway, according to the Bahrain Tender Board.

The strategic project is one of the major infrastructure projects being financed by the Saudi Fund for Development.

According to the Works Ministry, the entire work will be completed within 156 weeks. The deadline for submitting the tenders has been set at February 4, 2024, it added.

Reclamation work on the new Signature Bridge had begun in 2019. The 550-m bridge, suspended 93 m above sea level, is an extension of the 7.8-km-long North Muharraq Highway project which also includes the 4.2-km-long Muharraq Ring Road. It will connect north Busaiteen and Bahrain Bay.

Meanwhile, plans for the proposed Bahrain-Qatar Causeway Project have moved further when Bahrain and Qatar leaders, during a bilateral meeting, reviewed developments on the project and directed concerned authorities to complete the necessary plans to initiate the implementation of the project.

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 the travel duration between Bahrain and Qatar from five hours to 30 minutes.

The causeway will have a dual two-lane highway, accompanied by a rail platform. The project was planned to be built during the last decade but was stalled following a regional crisis.