A NEW bridge is being planned to connect a social housing development on a man-made island with mainland Muharraq, it was revealed yesterday.
The bridge will link the Hidd Wharf and the East Hidd Housing Town, which is being built on a large area estimated at 242 hectares with a total capacity of 4,537 housing units – comprising 2,827 houses, 1,212 apartments and 498 plots of land.
The bridge is part of a major project aimed at improving the roads network in Hidd and its surrounding areas, including establishing links with the Dry Dock Highway and the Khalifa Bin Salman Bridge.
The first and second phases of the project are scheduled for completion in May 2023 and the other four phases, including the bridge, are set for tendering in August next year, if the required financing is available.
Details of the project were revealed yesterday by officials from the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry during Muharraq Municipal Council’s weekly meeting.
“We have managed to acquire financing from the Saudi Fund for Development and will issue a tender for the first and second phases in June, with us finishing the concept design in August,” said Roads Planning and Design Directorate planning and traffic studies head Ahmed Al Kooheji.
“We expect the first batch of roads – phase one and two – to be completed in May 2023 with the awarded contractor responsible for defect and liability on site until April 2025.”
However, he told councillors that the third phase, which includes plans for a junction near the Hidd Power Plant and development of the Dry Dock Highway, was facing key challenges.
“There are significant utilities such as the GCC Railway corridor being planned on the same path,” he explained.
“There are also land constraints with key developments on all sides, along with potential conflicts with the power plant intake structure, adjacent junctions proximities and mainly budget unavailability.
“The way forward for the whole project is further data collection, highway concept developments, traffic validation, concept design approval and acquisition of land reclamation permits.”
During the meeting, council chairman Ghazi Al Murbati said the bridge should be prioritised and necessary funding made available from the $10 billion GCC Development Programme.
“Road improvements and work on new junctions are good, but that’s when we are speaking about a limited population, and not 4,500 families that are expected to move to the new housing town,” he said.
“The Dry Dock Highway is the main gateway to Dilmunia, Amwaj Islands and Diyar Al Muharraq, which will all be fully inhabited in the coming years, and the faster we do things the much easier our lives would be.”
The GDN previously reported that the East Hidd Housing Town, which can accommodate around 30,000 people, will also have a health centre, four grand mosques, five mosques, and six schools, including a high school and an intermediate school and four primary schools.
The town will also feature four public parks, 35km of promenade, 19 play areas for children and 37km of shaded areas along with a 3.8km walkway.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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