Dec 24 2015
Photo Credit:Reuters/Tomas Bravo
Thursday, Dec 24, 2015
Manama: More than 308,000 people arrived in Bahrain in one week, official figures indicate.
The Assistant Undersecretary for Ports, Search and Follow-up at the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports Residence (GDNPR) on Thursday said that 308,385 people had entered Bahrain between December 17 and December 23.
According to the official, 248,863 arrived from Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries via the King Fahd Causeway, while 59,163 landed at Bahrain International Airport and 359 came in through ports.
The figures indicate that the 25-km causeway, Bahrain’s only terrestrial link with a neighbouring country, remained by far the principal route used by travellers to enter the country.
The causeway, opened on November 26, 1986 by the late King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz and the late Emir Shaikh Eisa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, has been a crucial factor in the increase of the numbers of people arriving in Bahrain, mainly from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, and of Bahrain-based people travelling beyond the island kingdom.
According to official figures, 281,755,297 people have used the causeway since it was opened until the end of 2014, an average of 26,618 travellers a day.
The number of vehicles for the same period was 112,863,043, representing an average of 10,663 a day and making it one of the busiest traffic areas between Arab countries.
In 2014, Saudi cars totalled 3,546,557, compared with 1,058,279 from Bahrain, while 197,135 cars were from other countries.
However, the numbers of passengers from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were almost equal, with 11,015,552 travellers from Bahrain and 11,335,525 from Saudi Arabia.
Around 5,000 employees work in three shifts on the link.
Drivers who use the causeway pay a BD2 or a SR20 fee (Dh19.57) but no charges are imposed on passengers, regardless of their numbers. Reports in Saudi Arabia said that the fee would be increased to BD2.5 or SR25 in January.
Authorities in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have issued statements about increasing the number of lanes for cars, busses and trucks to help deal with traffic congestion, particularly during the weekends and holidays.
Several Saudi Arabia-based Saudi nationals and foreigners who work or study in Bahrain commute daily while a large number of Bahrain-based expatriates and Bahrainis use the causeway daily to go to their work or universities.
Strong family links between Gulf citizens are a significant factor in the exchange of visits over the causeway.
Movie theatres screening the latest movies and shopping complexes are considered among the top reasons for trips by Saudi families or Saudi Arabia-based foreigners to Manama.
The causeway is also used by trucks, mainly from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, heading towards Bahrain to deliver or load products.
Queues of long vehicles are often seen at the entrance or exit of the causeway.
By Habib Toumi Bureau Chief
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