King Fahad Causeway marks 30 years

Manama, Nov. 26 (BNA): King Fahad Causeway, the only causeway linking two Arab countries, marks today its 30th year amid deep gratitude for its role and confidence for greater uses in the future. The 25-kilometre causeway linking Bahrain and Saudi Arabia was officially opened on November 26, 1986 by the late Emir Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa and the late King Fahad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. According to an account of the background to the causeway by the King Fahad Causeway Authority (KFCA), the idea of establishing a terrestrial link between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia was supported by the two countries “as an expression of their wish to facilitate contacts and to increase the links and bonds between them.” In 1965, the idea began to crystallize officially, particularly during a courtesy visit by Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, to the late King Faisal bin Abdulaziz. In the year 1968, a joint committee was formed to look into a feasibility study. It requested the World Bank to contribute to identifying the best way for the implementation of the project taking into consideration the environmental and geographic aspects. In 1975, the World Bank submitted its study and advice for which it had sought assistance from specialist international experts in the geographic and environmental factors and maritime currents. In 1976, the two countries decided to set up a ministerial committee to work on the implementation of the project. In July 1981, Mohammed Aba Al Khail, the then minister for Finance and National Economy in Saudi Arabia and Yousuf Ahmed Al Shirawi, the then minister of Industrial Development in Bahrain signed the agreement for the construction of the causeway between the two countries, On November 11, 1982, the then Amir Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa and the then Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahad bin Abdul Aziz unveiled the memorial plaque announcing the start of the work on the causeway during an official ceremony attended by the leaders of the GCC states On November 26, 1986, the causeway was officially opened and it has since been a crucial factor in the increase in the number of travellers and in the volume of commerce carried out by Bahrain and other countries. According to official figures, 281,755,297 people have used the causeway since it was opened in 1986 until the end of 2014. The figure represents an average of 26,618 people using the terrestrial link every day. The number of vehicles for the same period was 112,863,043, representing an average of 10,663 a day. The figures make the causeway one of the busiest traffic areas in the vast Arab world. A report published by the King Fahad Causeway Authority said that in 2014, Saudi cars coming into Bahrain totalled 3,546,557, compared with 1,058,279 Bahraini cars driving into the Saudi kingdom. The number of cars from other countries was 197,135. The number of people leaving Bahrain via the causeway to Saudi Arabia and beyond was 11,015,552, while the number of people coming into Bahrain through the link was 11,335,525. Several Saudi Arabia-based Saudi nationals and foreigners who work or study in Bahrain commute daily while a large number of Bahrain-based expatriates and Bahrainis use the causeway daily to go to their work or universities. Intermarriages and strong family links between Gulf citizens are a significant factor in the regular exchange of visits over the causeway. Around 5,000 employees work in three shifts on the causeway. Bahrain’s Assistant Undersecretary for Ports, Search and Follow-up at the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports & Residence publishes weekly figures of the number of people who come into Bahrain or leave the kingdom. The figures invariably indicate that the causeway is by far the principal route used by travellers to enter or leave the country.