Al Fateh Highway upgrade project will cost BD40.5 million

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The total cost for all stages of Al Fateh Highway Upgrade Project, one of the ongoing prime infrastructure projects in the Kingdom, is estimated to be BD40.5 million. This came as the Minister of Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning, Essam Khalaf, inaugurated the first virtual 3D exhibition, during the press conference on Al Fateh Highway Upgrade Project yesterday.

It was attended by the Undersecretary for Works Affairs, Ahmed Al Khayyat, the Chairman of the Capital Municipality Council, Saleh Tarada, along with the Director of Operations and Traffic Control Department at the General Traffic Department, Colonel Adel Al Dosari, and a number of officials. “The ministry has been working since April 2021 on the main works of the project, which is expected to be completed in 2024.

The total cost of all stages of the project will amount to 40.5 million Bahraini Dinars, which also includes design and site supervision contract,” the minister said. “The project aims to improve the capacity of Al Fateh Highway by 61 per cent, which increases it from 87,000 vehicles per day in its current condition, up to 140,000 vehicles per day once the project is completed.”

Al Fateh Highway Upgrade Project ranges from the entrance to the Exhibitions Avenue in the north to the Mina Salman interchange in the south. It includes the development of Shaikh Daij Junction, Al Fateh Center Junction, and Dulab Junction, with the aim of providing seamless traffic movement in both directions. 

Four lanes in each direction

The main works of the project include the expansion and upgrade of Al Fateh Highway to four lanes in each direction over more than three km, and the construction of an underpass with three lanes in both directions with a length of 595 meters at Gulf Hotel Junction to for traffic between north and south, in addition to a signal-controlled junction at ground level.

The project also includes the construction of a one-way left-turn flyover with two lanes for people coming from Manama from the north on Al Fateh Highway towards Prince Saud Al Faisal Avenue, while cancelling the junction of Al Fateh Highway with Shaikh Daij Avenue to provide free traffic movement on ground level.

It also includes the construction of a U-turn flyover with two lanes near the entrance to Al Fateh Corniche for northbound traffic to turn towards the south.

Ring road

The ring road starts from Shaikh Isa bin Salman Highway through Bahrain Map interchange, Umm Al Hassam and Mina Salman, passing through Al Fateh Highway and North Manama Causeway through to Bahrain Bay and Financial Harbor, thus relieving traffic congestion on King Faisal Highway.

BD 29,662,315 project

The main works of the project have been awarded to a joint venture between Nass Contracting Co (Bahrain) and Huta Hegerfeld Saudi Ltd. (Saudi Arabia) by the Tender Board with a contract sum of 29,662,315 Bahraini dinars (twenty-nine million, six hundred and sixty-two thousand, three hundred fifteen Bahraini Dinars) financed by Saudi Fund for Development, where the project began in April 2021 with a duration of 3 years under the supervision of Parsons Engineering Consultancy.

Virtual 3D model

Later, Khalaf launched the virtual tour, which includes a 3D virtual model of Al Fateh Highway Upgrade Project and various multimedia which includes an overview of the project, its strategic dimensions and its impact on the national economy, traffic statistics, existing and upcoming traffic diversions, construction progress photos and completion percentage, and dedicated section for the latest news and coverage that will be updated regularly.

The tour portrays a modern and virtual style designed using highly interactive technology with the aim of public engagement, enhancing project communications, and closely informing the highway users on the latest developments of the project.

The exhibition can be visited electronically through the Ministry’s website www.works. gov.bh and the Ministry’s Instagram account @Bahrain_Works. n interactive platform is also available for the public at the Avenues Mall.