UAE Launches Procurement for 40km “West Link” Causeway to Qatar

The United Arab Emirates has launched procurement for the long-anticipated West Link causeway, a 40-kilometer, four-lane highway that will directly connect the UAE to Qatar. Managed by Etihad Rail, the project begins near Ras Ghumais and will run offshore to a new ferry terminal on Makasib Island, where vehicles will cross into Qatar.

On 4 April, several local and international firms submitted Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) statements, outlining their construction methodologies, preliminary designs and budget estimates. Etihad Rail elected the ECI model to secure multiple technical and financial proposals at the outset, reflecting the project’s complex offshore environment.
Preliminary conceptual design work and comprehensive social, economic and business case studies have been underway since early 2024. Etihad Rail declined to comment when approached for further details.

This initiative revives plans first explored in 2005, when Abu Dhabi and Doha discussed forming a joint venture to build a causeway running from Sila in Abu Dhabi to the southern outskirts of Doha. At the time, the route promised to eliminate the 125-kilometer detour through Saudi Arabia, slashing travel times between the Gulf neighbors. However, geopolitical tensions and disputes over territorial waters stalled the effort.

Diplomatic rifts deepened in June 2017, when the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar and suspended all joint infrastructure schemes. Following the Al-Ula Declaration of 5 January 2021, regional relations began to thaw, paving the way for renewed cooperation on projects such as the West Link. With procurement now under way, the UAE is poised to deliver its most ambitious cross-border highway yet.