Fast track

T.S.Sreenivasa Raghavan/DTNN

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The entrances and exits of Isa Town will soon undergo a major revamp as part of Bahrain Gas Interchange Project, said Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs & Urban Planning Essam Khalaf.

Talking to this correspondent over phone, the Minister said the government was determined to give the much-needed facelift to Isa Town by introducing major infrastructural changes.

“As part of Bahrain Gas Interchange Project, Bahrain Tender Board (BTB) has already awarded the contract to consultancy firm Parsons Global Services Ltd.  The contract sum is worth BD 345,620,” Khalaf revealed.

Successful completion of this project, the Minister said, would ensure uninterrupted and non-stop traffic flow along the entrances of Shaikh Salman Highway and Isa Town. 

The Bahrain Gas Interchange Project, interestingly, had topped the priorities of Works Ministry, which has conceived a brilliant plan for the strategic revamp of the Kingdom’s roads.

Besides removing the ‘chock-a-block bottlenecks’, the project would also smoothen the flow of vehicles from Manama, Sitra and Muharraq to Shaikh Isa bin Salman Highway.

The new project, once it becomes operational, would also put a peremptory end to congestion issues along the roads networked in the area and nearby interchanges, opined Khalaf.

Asked whether the Bahrain Gas Interchange is a GCC-funded project, the Minister replied in the negative.  “No, it’s not a GCC-funded project. It’s financed by the government,” he confirmed.

The Minister said Parsons Global Services Ltd – the consultancy firm – was bound to complete this vital project within a period of 18 months as per contractual obligations.

Asked whether his Ministry has any other projects in the pipeline, Khalaf replied in the affirmative. “There are other projects as well in the pipeline but difficult to talk about at this stage until we get due approvals,” the Minister added.