Escalating costs are expected to delay completion of the BD1.1 billion ($2.9 billion) Friendship Causeway linking Bahrain and Qatar, said a report.

The project, believed to be the world's longest man-made bridge, was originally due to open to traffic next year, according to the report published in our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News.

But rising costs associated with financial turbulence worldwide mean it may now be ready shortly before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, being hosted by Qatar.

"After the onset of the world financial crisis we discovered that the cost of the project was very high, so we are reviewing the project and waiting for its findings," Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa told the Qatar newspaper The Peninsula, according to the report.

He confirmed Qatar had listed the causeway as part of mega 2022-linked development projects in preparation for the World Cup.

"So the causeway will, of course, see the light of day," he said.

Connection

However, the report stated Shaikh Khalid hinted it would only happen shortly before the start of the tournament.

Travel time from Qatar to Bahrain is expected to be reduced from four-and-a-half hours to around 30 minutes as a result of the causeway, which will also provide a connection for future high-speed freight and passenger rail lines between the countries. – TradeArabia News Service