Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are considering using the private sector to build the proposed second causeway that connecting the two countries.

“We are planning to test the private sector’s appetite for this project. Hopefully we will arrange for an event where we invite the private sector to brief them about this project,” Minister of Transport and Telecommunications Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed told MEED. “I don’t want to give dates, but we have a meeting next month [in April] here in Bahrain and we will decide. We want to do it very soon.”

The minister says that there is a strong business case for the project. “This is a tested project. You have 10.2 million vehicles crossing the existing causeway. So even from a risk point of view there is little uncertainty,” he said.

A technical and financial feasibility study for the new causeway was completed by Canada’s SNC Lavalin last year, and since then it has been reviewed by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. “We now understand the situation, and we are convinced that this project is important for both countries. We need to have connectivities that will benefit both Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, not only for economic and commercial reasons, also socially and politically, it has all these objectives,” said the minister.

The impetus for the causeway is the GCC rail network. “[Rail] is an opportunity to do another causeway because we think the existing [King Fahd] causeway will not provide a good enough service by 2030, and it is better to do it now when it is cheaper than doing it later,” said the minister, adding that the causeway and the rail project are integrally connected. “They are one project. People keep separating them.”

Bahrain has also planned a causeway link with Qatar, and although that scheme was moving towards construction in 2008, it is now at an earlier stage. “The causeway with Qatar, the Ministry of Transport is not involved so far. It is being handled by the ministry of finance at this stage,” says Mohammed.