South Korea’s GS Engineering & Construction Corporation has submitted the low bid for the long-delayed Doha Link bridge scheme.

The project, which involves building a crossing that will connect Shuwaikh to the port village of Doha in the Jahra region in Kuwait, has been out to tender for more than a year, as the deadline for bids was extended several times.

Kuwait’s Public Works Ministry prequalified 12 local/international groups for the tender in July 2012. The following six companies submitted bids, which were opened this week:

• GS Engineering & Construction Corporation (South Korea) – KD165.7m ($587m)
• China Communications Construction Company (China) – KD188.8m
• China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (China) – KD216.4m
• Archirodon (Greece) – KD217m
• Samsung C&T (South Korea) – KD231.8m
• Salini Costruttori (Italy) – KD248.3m

The Doha Link bridge will be about 16 kilometres long, and will contain three traffic lanes and an emergency lane in each direction. It will connect with the planned 37.5km-long Subiya Causeway, which will cross Kuwait Bay, linking Kuwait City with the Subiya promontory and Bubiyan Island, where various major projects are proposed.

The ministry awarded the contract to build the causeway to a consortium led by South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction in October 2012, after Kuwait’s Central Tenders Committee (CTC) had approved the $2.6bn low bid from the consortium, which includes the local Combined Group Contracting Company (CGCC), in February 2011. The award of the deal was delayed until it received final approval from parliament.

In October 2013, the ministry appointed Lebanon’s Dar al-Handasah as the design review and construction supervision consultant for both the Subiya Causeway and Doha Link schemes.

Last November, MEED reported that construction work on the causeway had started. The progress on both projects will be welcomed in Kuwait’s projects market, as both schemes have faced several delays in recent years.