Lebanese firm Dar Al-Handasah has been awarded a contract to conduct studies for the Qatar-Bahrain causeway project.

The scope of the QR28m ($7.7m) contract covers financial, economic, social and environmental feasibility studies for the 40-kilometre-long causeway, also known as the Friendship Bridge.

The tender for the contract was issued in June last year, with bids submitted on 21 August.

MEED understands that the contract was awarded in mid-December.

Several other major international firms also submitted bids for the contract. These include WS Atkins & Partners, Khatib & Alami, Boston Consulting Group, Oliver Wyman, Arthur D Little, AT Kearney and Egis.

The project made major progress in February last year when Qatar and Bahrain agreed to restructure the project’s board of directors, as MEED reported.

That development followed a meeting of officials from the two countries in November 2024, at which it was agreed that plans for the $4bn project would be restarted.

The two countries also instructed the relevant authorities to finalise plans to initiate project implementation.

The project will connect Bahrain’s eastern coast with the northern region of Qatar. It will feature a dual two-lane highway and form a key link in the GCC rail network.

The causeway had been on hold for seven years before Manama severed diplomatic ties with Doha in 2017. Saudi Arabia and the UAE also severed ties with Qatar. The diplomatic crisis ended in January 2021 with the signing of the Al-Ula Declaration at the 41st GCC summit.

Construction on the causeway project was originally scheduled to start in early 2009 after a consortium led by Vinci Construction Grands Projets signed a $3bn design-and-build contract in May 2008.

The consortium also included Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, Germany’s Hochtief, Greece’s Consolidated Contractors Company and Belgium’s Deme Group.

France’s Lavigne & Cheron Architects initially designed the project.

US-based KBR was appointed as the project management consultant, with support from Halcrow, now part of US-based Jacobs.