Construction work on the KD739m ($2.6bn) Subiya Causeway in Kuwait will be completed in 2018 according to a Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) report quoting the Minister of Public Works Abdulrahman al-Mutawaa.

Construction work on the scheme started in 2013.

The project, officially known as the Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah bridge, was repeatedly delayed due to design changes to allow large vessels to pass beneath it and to avoid environmental damage. The Public Works Ministry, the client for the scheme, reopened the prequalification process in 2010.

The contractor is a consortium that includes South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction and the local Combined Group Contracting Company (CGCC).

The causeway will cross Kuwait Bay, linking Kuwait City with the Subiya promontory and Bubiyan Island, where various major projects are proposed. It will be 37.5 kilometres (km) long and will incorporate a bridge spanning 150-200 metres.