Saudi Arabia close to decision on Qatar border canal plan

The Saudi government is close to announcing the winner of a tender to dig a canal along the border with Qatar, effectively turning the peninsula nation into an island.

The tender process for the project to dig a 60-kilometre canal closed on June 25 with the results to be announced this month.

A senior government official said on Friday that the final approvals for the project may be in the works.

“I am eagerly awaiting details on the implementation of the Salwa Island project, a great, historic project that will change the geography of the region,” Saud Al Qahtani, a senior adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said on Twitter.

Five unidentified international companies with experience have submitted bids to carry out the work worth 2.8 billion Saudi riyals (Dh2.74bn).

The canal will stretch from the town of Salwa, just southwest of the Qatari border, to Khor Al Adeed. It will be 200 metres wide and 15 to 20 metres deep, allowing ships up to 295 metres long and 33 metres wide to navigate it.

The channel will be set a kilometre back from the official border. Riyadh is looking to develop significant infrastructure along the canal, including a military base and an atomic waste storage dump to service nuclear power stations it plans to build.

Ports will be built in Salwa and in Aqlat Al Zawayed and marinas for pleasure yachts and water sports will be constructed along the banks of the canal near two planned holiday resorts.

The funding has reportedly been put forward by Saudi and Emirati private investors and an Egyptian company will be involved in the project.

In April, Saudi border guards replaced the Customs and passport departments along the frontier, effectively ending crossings and sealing Qatar’s only land border.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt suspended travel and trade ties with Qatar last June because of its support for terrorism in the region and its close ties to Iran.