'We held a BOT seminar at the ministry on 11 February and gave potential investors two months to submit proposals and ideas,' MPW's Abbas Gholoom told the MEED Major Project Opportunities in Kuwait conference on 18 May. 'We did not receive any serious proposals, so we have now decided to take the design-build approach. This reflects the urgency of the need for the causeway and the seriousness of the government's intentions. The design-build approach will save time and potentially reduce the cost.'

It is understood that negotiations between MPW and Denmark's COWI for the reactivation of the latter's consultancy contract have reached an advanced stage and terms should be finalised by June. The contract was suspended while the project was reassessed by MPW.

A final route for the estimated KD 450 million ($1,525 million) causeway, which could include the construction of man-made islands and bridge towers up to 300 metres high, has been selected: it will leave Kuwait City from the Al-Ghazali expressway.

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Gholoom said that requests for prequalification for the design and build contract are expected to be issued in November, and that full tender documents would be out in the first or second quarter of 2005.