Qatar to Bahrain ferry to launch next year – report

The first ferry connection between Qatar and Bahrain will launch by the middle of next year, according to a report.

Doha News quoted an industry source as saying that the new service, operated by Qatari firm Gulf Ferry, will have two return trips a day from Al Ruwais port in northern Qatar to Khalifa bin Salman port in Manama.

The report said the service will take commercial as well as personal vehicles, with the trip estimated to take between 1.5 to 2.5 hours.

Plans for a causeway between the two Gulf states, dubbed the Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Bridge, were approved in 2005, but the $4.5 billion megaproject has not materialised.

The Doha News report suggested that if this service was successful, new routes could be added to other GCC states.