Manama: The head of Al Ahsa Municipality in eastern Saudi Arabia has suggested the construction of two causeways linking the Saudi kingdom with neighbouring Bahrain and Qatar.

Adel Bin Mohammad Al Melhem said the causeway between Al Ahsa and Bahrain would be 40 kilometres long and would be located around 100 kilometres from the King Fahad Causeway which has linked Bahrain and Saudi Arabia since November 1986.

The causeway would be 380 kilometres away from the Saudi capital Riyadh, he added.

The proposed causeway with Qatar would be 25 kilometres long and would be 70 kilometres away from the proposed link with Bahrain and 425 kilometres from Riyadh, Saudi daily Okaz reported on Thursday.

Al Melhem made the suggestions at a conference on municipal work in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held in the Qatari capital Doha under the theme “The Role of Municipalities in Achieving Sustainable Development.”

The Saudi official highlighted a futuristic vision about investments and cooperation between the GCC countries.

The GCC is made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The 25- kilometre long King Fahad Causeway is the only one of its kind between two countries in the GCC and the longest in the Arab world.

Opened by the late King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia and the late Emir Shaikh Eisa Bin Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain, it is today one of the busiest traffic areas between Arab countries.

Drivers who use the causeway pay a 2.5 Bahraini Dinars or 25 Saudi Riyals fee, but no charges are imposed on passengers, regardless of their numbers.

Authorities in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have recently issued statements about increasing the number of lanes for cars, buses and trucks to help deal with traffic congestion, particularly during the weekends and holidays.

Several Saudis and Saudi Arabia-based foreigners who work or study in Bahrain commute daily while a large number of Bahrain-based expatriates and Bahrainis use the causeway daily to go to their work or universities.

The causeway is also used by trucks, mainly from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, heading towards Bahrain to deliver or load products.

Queues of long vehicles are often seen at the entrance or exit of the causeway.

According to official figures, 40,000 people a day use the terrestrial link between the two kingdoms.

In March 2014, a total of 770,672 people used the causeway during the 10-day break in Saudi schools.

In September 2014, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia announced plans to build a new link to be named “King Hamad Causeway”.

“The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz has endorsed the project to construct a second causeway that will link the Kingdom of Bahrain with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported. “King Abdullah’s endorsement of the causeway was announced during his meeting with His Majesty King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa in Jeddah. King Hamad expressed his thanks and gratitude to King Abdullah for his generous initiative and his strong support to the consolidation of relations between the GCC countries.”

The new terrestrial link is expected to consolidate economic, social and cultural relations and cooperation between the GCC countries, the official news agency added.