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Kuwait's $3bn causeway project enters fast-track

KUWAIT CITY, July 16, 2018

Kuwaiti authorities said that work on Subiya link of the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah Causeway project was moving at a steady pace with the last component of its structure set to be installed by the end of the month, said a report.

On completion, the causeway (also known as Al Subiya bridge) will link the capital Kuwait City with Al Subiya, a town on the other side of the bay, and also shorten the distance from 104 km to 36 km, reported Kuwait Times, citing a top official.

Ahmad Al Hessan, the director of the Public Authority for Roads and Land Transport, said precast sections had been used in building the 27-km-long bridge over Kuwait Bay using 958 pieces, each 40 to 60 m long and 17 m wide and standing tall at 2.5 to 4 m and weighing around 950 tonnes.

Once ready, the motorists will be able to cross the distance in flat 30 minutes, instead of the 90 minutes on the long land route, it added.

Being developed by Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works (MPW) at an estimated cost of $3 billion, the causeway is named after the 13th Emir of Kuwait to commemorate his contribution to the development of Kuwait, according to Gulf Construction.

It comprises two elements: the 36.1-km Main Link and the 12.4-km Doha Link, which together make it one of the longest bridge projects in the world.

The main causeway across Kuwait Bay links the Shuwaikh Port area on the south side of the bay to the proposed new town at Subiya to the north. It includes a 27-km marine bridge, a signature cable-stayed structure with a massive arch pylon rising as a landmark in the middle of the vital navigation route of the Kuwait Bay leading to the proposed Silk City (Madinat Al Hareer), it stated.

The Doha Link, which is primarily a marine bridge, crosses the south of Kuwait Bay linking Shuwaikh Port with the Doha motorway.  It includes three lanes and one emergency lane in each direction.

Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah causeway will provide new strategic highway routes to facilitate planned development to the north of Kuwait City, said the report.

The Main Link aims to facilitate traffic movement to Subiya by reducing the travel time to 20 minutes from the 70 minutes taken on the current highways; the Doha Link, meanwhile, will reduce the 30-minute drive on the current highway to a seven-minute ride, it stated.

The development of the two components were awarded on a design-build basis following the completion of the concept design.

A consortium of South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction with the local Combined Group Contracting Company (CGCC) is the contractor for the Main Link under a KD738.75 ($2.6 billion) deal awarded in November 2013; while GS Engineering & Construction, also of South Korea, is the contractor for the Doha Link under a KD165.71 million contract awarded in 2014, said the Gulf Construction report.

Dar Al Handasah (Shair & Partners) (Dar), in association with TY Lin International (TYLI) and the local consultant SSH, is the engineer’s representative on both projects, and are in charge of the design review and construction supervision, it added.




Tags: Kuwait | Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah Causeway |

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