A multi-billion dollar railway project to link Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE will likely not be operational until right before the 2022 World Cup, Bahrain’s foreign minister has said.

Construction on the causeway, which would cut travel time between Bahrain and Qatar from 5 hours to 30 minutes, was originally supposed to start in 2010. The project was later pushed back to 2014, and slated to become operational by 2017, but got shelved after costs turned out to be much higher than originally estimated.

The latest figures put the project between $15bn to $25bn.

“We are reviewing the project and waiting for its findings,” Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said in an interview with Al Sharq during a GCC foreign ministers’ meeting in Manama.

The Peninsula translates:

Sheikh Khalid said Qatar had already listed the causeway project as part of mega 2022-linked development projects. “So the causeway will, of course, see the light of day.”

But only a little before the 2022 World Cup, he hinted.

Last year, Qatar shelved one of its own railway projects due to higher-than-expected costs: an 11-kilometer underground rail line planned for the West Bay area.

But it has recently broken ground on a $36bn railway network, beginning construction on a Msheireb station, which would eventually serve as a hub for the Doha Metro.

Thoughts?

Credit: Rendering courtesy of Road Traffic Technology