Bahrain’s Ministry of Works is evaluating offers from consultants and plans to start planning and design work on the Busaiteen link road project this year, Bader Alawi, the ministry’s chief of roads special projects, told MEED’s Bahrain Infrastructure and Finance conference on 28 April.

The Busaiteen link has many components including land reclamation, construction of major roads, a signature marine bridge for the fourth Manama-Muharraq crossing, grade-separated interchanges and installation of various services. The project is being financed by Saudi Arabia.

Alawi went on to reveal that an average of about BD50m ($135m) a year will be invested in key GCC-funded road and highway projects in Bahrain.

The Ministry of Works, which is overlooking the procurement process for all major road projects in Bahrain, has also confirmed that GCC-financed projects must be awarded to joint ventures incorporating at least one local partner from the respective GCC country providing the funding.

Other major road projects being financed by GCC funds in Bahrain include:

• Sheikh Jaber highway (Kuwait)
• Sheikh Zayed highway (Abu Dhabi)
• Al-Fateh highway upgrade (Kuwait)
• North Manama causeway (Saudi Arabia)