Works Minister Inaugurates Virtual 3D exhibition for Al Fateh Highway Upgrade Project

Published In : 10/03/2022

The Minister of Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning, Engineer Essam bin Abdullah Khalaf, inaugurated the first virtual 3D exhibition, during the press conference of Al Fateh Highway Upgrade Project. The press conference was attended by The Undersecretary for Works Affairs Eng. Ahmed Abdel Aziz Al-Khayyat, the Chairman of the Capital Municipality Council, Engineer Saleh Tarada, the Director of Operations and Traffic Control Department at the General Traffic Department, Colonel Adel Al-Dosari, and a number of officials.

On this event, Minister Khalaf commended the honourable government's support and direction in the implementation of infrastructure projects, which emphasises the government's determination to upgrade the strategic roads network. And increase traffic safety and reduce traffic congestion on the one hand, and support and incentivize the national economy on the other.

He additionally stated that the Kingdom of Bahrain is working in accordance to Vision 2030 to design, implement and manage the roads network in the Kingdom to provide safe, smooth, and effective traffic movement for all road users, through the development of a high-quality network, supported by its infrastructure in accordance to the latest standards and guidelines.

The Minister asserted the continuation of projects to upgrade main intersections, pointing out that the Al Fateh Highway Upgrade Project is underway. The advanced works for the project started since 2018, through which a large number of major ground services, that are in conflict with the main works of expanding and upgrading Al Fateh highway, have been diverted. In addition to the construction of the main sewage water line extending from Juffair to Al Ghuraifah which has been recently completed.

He continued: 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 project aims to improve the capacity of Al Fateh Highway by 61% 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.

 

During the press conference, Minister Khalaf presented the latest developments in the project works. He confirmed that the Ministry completed the construction of all the piles and piers of the U-turn flyover, and that the process of constructing the flyover is proceeding according to the program, which is scheduled for opening to traffic in the last quarter of this year 2022.  The construction of piles for the left-turn flyover for traffic heading towards to Prince Saud Al Faisal Highway has begun, in conjunction with the required traffic diversions to provide work space. The left-turn flyover is set to be opened to traffic in the first quarter of the year 2023. Additionally, secant piling works are in progress in preparation for the underpass excavation and structural works.

The minister explained that the Ministry is working on the implementation of the policy of phased opening of the various elements of the project. This will contribute to improving the flow of traffic on Al Fateh Highway and will reduce traffic congestion, which eases the completion of the remaining parts of the project with minimised impact on traffic.

Al Fateh Highway Upgrade Project ranges from the entrance to the Exhibitions Avenue in the north to 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. The main works of the project include the expansion and upgrade of Al Fateh Highway to four lanes in each direction over more than 3 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 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.

Al Fateh Highway is considered as the main artery carrying traffic for East Manama, and it is an integral part of the ring road in the capital, Manama, which, upon completion, aims to provide free flow traffic around the capital. 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.

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.

Afterwards, Minister Khalaf proceeded to unveil and launch 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. An interactive platform is also available for the public in the Avenues Mall.



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