A proposed “Friendship Bridge” aims to connect Bahrain and Qatar, two countries with a historically turbulent relationship, to foster economic development within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and enhance people-to-people ties. According to the Daily Express, the officially named Bahrain-Qatar Causeway project is expected to reduce travel time from five hours to just 30 minutes over a 21-mile distance.

Initially estimated at £1.8 billion in 2008, the project’s cost has now surged to nearly £2.4 billion. The bridge will support both road and railway traffic and is seen as a natural extension of the King Fahd Causeway, which connects Khobar in Saudi Arabia with Al Jasra in Bahrain. Additionally, the bridge will reach a height of 40 meters to accommodate maritime navigation.

Dr. Omar Alubaydli from the Bahrain Centre for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (Derasat) told the Gulf Daily News (GND) in February, “The proximity of Bahrain to Qatar and the dynamism of both economies make them structurally logical trading partners, reinforced by the warmth of cultural ties between the two nations.”

Reportedly first approved in February 2005, the project aimed to be the longest fixed link in the world at the time, linking Bahrain to Qatar. However, past tensions between Doha and Manama, including a near-conflict in 1986 over disputed territories like the Zubara, Janan Islands, and Fasht Al Dibal, have complicated progress. In 2010, the long-standing dispute over the Hawar Islands, which began in 1936, was reignited, further escalating costs and stalling the project.

Source Pakistan Today