A major multi-million-dollar upgrade of one of Bahrain’s busiest transport corridors – Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah Highway – has entered the tender stage after royal ratification of its financing agreement.

The Works Ministry issued a public GCC tender through the Tender Board’s website for Phase One (Immediate Scheme) of the project’s second stage, covering a 2-km stretch from the Nuwaidrat intersection to near the Applied Science University. It will feature a four-lane dual carriageway with service roads on both sides, alongside extensive infrastructure works including earthworks, storm drainage networks, a pumping station, duct crossings, protection and diversion of underground utilities, road construction and street lighting.

The move follows approval of the framework agreement by the Shura Council and parliament and its ratification by His Majesty King Hamad, enabling financing support from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development for the wider highway project.

Tender documents stipulate a 52-week contract, with bids submitted under a two-envelope system separating technical and financial offers, with technical proposals evaluated first and excluding pricing details.  

Works Minister Ibrahim Al Hawaj earlier said the ministry remained committed to delivering the project in phases that minimise disruption while accelerating improvements on the ground.

The project’s second stage will involve a major highway expansion, estimated to cost around BD128.6 million ($341.4 million). It will stretch 11 km from Umm Al Hassam to Nuwaidrat and is designed to increase capacity from three to four lanes in each direction, with five major intersections to be upgraded into flyovers.

The first stage of the expansion – the Alba Junction project – has already transformed the Alba and Nuwaidrat roundabouts into multi-level interchanges.