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.
