Eight international consultancy and architectural firms which have been prequalified to carry out a feasibility study and prepare a preliminary design for a Kuwait causeway project, are likely to submit their proposals this month.

The project is part of a plan to develop a new city at Subiya to be linked to Kuwait City by a causeway across Kuwait Bay which will reduce the distance between the two sites to 22 km from 130 km.

The consultancy and design contract is estimated to be worth about $9 million. The first phase is for a feasibility study on the causeway, proposals for the best route for construction and suggested options for the awarding of the project on a build-operate (BO) basis.

The second phase will be for developing a preliminary design and will include studies on the flow of traffic from Kuwait City to the causeway.

The competitors include companies from the US, France and Britain. The construction period for the causeway, worth around $644 million, will be about four years, starting in 2003.