Doha: A long-planned 40-kilometre causeway linking Qatar, set to host the 2022 football World Cup, and Bahrain will be built, but the cost may need to be lowered, Bahrain's foreign minister said.
"It is a must for both countries, even without the World Cup," Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa told reporters yesterday, without giving a timeframe for the project. "This is one economic market, one economic zone that should be well-connected, and the bridge is an integral part of that ... It is inevitable."
Sources close to the project had said in June it would be delayed due to escalating costs and political wrangling between the countries.
The bridge would help Qatar manage heavy traffic during the World Cup as nearby Bahrain could absorb some of the tourist inflow in its hotels.
