The Saudi authorities have unveiled two plans to streamlined procedures and increase the traffic capacity on the King Fahd Causeway.
The number of ID check booths will be increased to 38 on the Saudi side of the Causeway, within the coming three months to cater to the growing number of passengers and vehicles.
Eastern province customs director-general Brigadier-General Mohammed Al-Oufi has also unveiled plans to increase the number lanes on the Saudi side.
He said that details of the one-stop customs would be announced shortly, stressing Bahrain’s keenness on fast-tracking the new procedure.
“The experimental implementation of the one-stop point revealed positive sides and negative ones related to the sovereignty of the two countries”, he said.
Brig. Gen. Al-Oufi said that 200 CCTV surveillance cameras monitor the movement of traffic on King Fahd Causeway to spot any irregularities or mistakes.
“Some CCTV cameras have been installed inside ID check booths to monitor work procedures and supply employees with updated information from the control room.
Last year, the Saudi authorities increased the number of departure lanes for passengers and vehicles heading to Bahrain from 18 to 21 and increased lanes for incoming traffic from 17 to 38 to cope with massive growth.
According to the latest statistics, a total of 24,836, 795 passengers crossed King Fahd Causeway last year(2017), an average of 70,160 daily.
In 2006, 13, 921, 233 passengers only crossed the strategic artery binding Bahrain and Saudi Arabia – a daily average of 38,140 travellers.