Kuwait is set to become a major free trade hub as it has announced on Wednesday the inauguration of one of the world’s largest causeways which links Kuwait to an uninhabited border region.
According to Dawn news reports, the 36-kilometre bridge will connect Kuwait city, the capital of Kuwait, to the northern desert region of Subbiya, where the country aims to generate the “Silk City” project which will directly link the Gulf to Europe and central Asia.
The bridge, “Jaber”, was named after ex-ruler Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, spans 22 miles, three-quarter of it over water.
The bridge will cut short travel time between the capital Kuwait city and Subbiya which is close to both Iran and Iraq, from one and half an hour to only half an hour.
Investments into the Silk City project is likely to around $100 billion, and 5,000-megawatt power plant that has already been built in Subbiya.
The $3.6 billion-bridge took five years to construct, which was designed by a Paris-based consulting and engineering group Systra. The project was carried out by an association led by South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. along with Kuwait’s Combined Group Contracting Co.
The opening ceremony was attended by Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah along with South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon and the leader of the French Senate, Gerard Larcher.