Kuwait opens one of world's longest high-speed bridges
Kuwait has opened the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah Causeway, one of the world's longest and most gigantic high-speed bridges spanning 37.5 km across Kuwait Bay from the capital Kuwait City to Subiyah area, said a report.
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Kuwait Amir HH Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah yesterday (May 1) opened the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah Causeway, one of the world's longest and most gigantic high-speed bridges spanning 37.5 km across Kuwait Bay from the capital Kuwait City to Subiyah area, said a report.
The landmark bridge has been built by Korean building giant Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Hyundai E&C). The group had won the $2.62-billion project contract in November 2013 along with a local company (Combined Group).
It was inaugurated in the presence of visiting South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon, President of the French Senate Gerard Larcher and a host of senior state officials, reported Kuwait News Agency (Kuna).
The ceremony was also attended by Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, National Assembly speaker Marzouq Al Ghanim, Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Hamad Al Sabah and other senior government officials, it stated.
Addressing the gathering, Lee said it was indeed a great pleasure for South Korean companies to participate in the largest national project in the history of Kuwait.
He lauded Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company for its utmost efforts throughout the work period on the bridge project.
"The project used the latest methods of civil engineering and environment-friendly technologies," stated the Korean premier, adding that the causeway will be managed and operated through an intelligent transport system.
The causeway, he stated, would play a pivotal role in linking the southern and northern regions; it will reduce commuting time between Kuwait City and Subiyah area to around 20 minutes instead of one hour.
Deputy director general of the Public Authority for Roads and Transportation Saud Al Naqi told Kuna that Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Causeway was part of Kuwait's integrated development plan.
Dubbing it as the new development "gate" for the country, Al Naqi said the causeway was the "artery" that would link Kuwait City with the Silk City; which is considered the future financial and commercial centre.
It crosses two artificial islands of 280,000 sq m each, in addition to comprising government buildings, green spaces and areas for future investment projects, he added.
The bridge starts from the intersection of Al Ghazali Highway with Jamal Abdel Nasser Street at the port of Shuwaikh to Al Subiya Highway ending at the new Al-Subiya City at northern Al Joun, said the Kuna report.
Construction on the project began on November 3, 2013 and was built in two parts: the first one (Al-Subiya link) costed KD738 million dinars ($2.4 billion), covering a 27-km-tall bridge, with the main bridge for ships passing to Al-Doha port, across a shipping lane passage that is 120 m wide, a navigational opening that is 23 meter high.
The second part included a 4.7-km-long Doha highway, with five 725-m high bridges and a 7.7-km-long sea bridge, three traffic lanes and a safety lane in each direction costing KD165.7 million ($544 million), said the Kuna report.
The sea bridge starts from the port of Shuwaikh to the west and passes beside Umm Al-Namel Island to Doha area and then connects to the Doha Highway, it added.
An architectural marvel, the bridge, which is about three meters wide was built with over 1,500 pillars. The project also involves the construction of two artificial islands, the first near Kuwait City and the second near the town of Subiya to provide maintenance, emergency services and coast guards patrolling the bay leading to a 6-km-long coast.
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