Construction of a 40km causeway that would connect gas exporter Qatar to Bahrain will start in the first quarter of 2010, an official said on Sunday.

'We are evaluating the final design and cost of the project and expect construction to start early next year,' Jaber Al-Mohannadi, general manager of the Qatar-Bahrain Causeway Foundation, told a conference in Abu Dhabi.

Construction was initially scheduled to start in 2009, but the addition of rail lines delayed the project. 'Project completion will be 2015,' he said, but declined to give the estimated cost of the project because the figure was yet to be finalised.

Contractors selected to carry out the project include France's Vinci and Germany's Hochtief AG, Mohannadi said.

The latest official cost estimate of the causeway, one of the longest in the world, stands at $3 billion to be shared between Bahrain and Qatar. Users of the bridge will have to pay a toll, Mohannadi said.

Jassim Ali, a member of the financial and economic affairs committee of Bahrain's parliament, estimated the project to cost $4-$5 billion.

'Qatar will probably be providing some soft financing to Bahrain' to help cover its share of the cost of the project, Ali said.

Qatar, the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, has one of the world's highest per capita gross domestic product, while Bahrain is a small oil producer with limited public finances.-Reuters