Salwa Canal
{{short description|Proposed canal along Saudi Arabia-Qatar border}}
{{Infobox canal
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| image = Salwa-canal-Saudi-ar-Qatar-en.jpg
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| image_caption = The canal would be south of the border between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
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| min_boat_draft = {{cvt|12|m}}
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| status = Abandoned{{cn|date=February 2021}}
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The Salwa Canal is a proposed shipping route and tourism project through Saudi Arabia along its border with Qatar, effectively turning the latter into an island. The project appears to be abandoned for the present.{{Cite web|url=https://www.crossfirekm.org/articles/three-years-since-the-blockade-clouds-loom-over-qatars-apparent-victory|title=Three Years Since the Blockade, Clouds Loom over Qatar's Apparent Victory}}
==Background==
{{Main|Qatar diplomatic crisis}}
In June 2017, Saudi Arabia and a number of countries cut diplomatic relations with Qatar and imposed a land, sea, and air blockade.{{cite news |last1=Dudley |first1=Dominic |title=Saudi Arabia Eyes Up Canal Border Idea, Turning Qatar From A Peninsula Into An Island |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2018/04/06/saudi-canal-qatar-island/ |accessdate=19 June 2018 |work=Forbes |language=en}}
Proposal
The tender was scheduled to take place on 25 June 2018. According to the publication Makkah Al-Mukarramah, the company with the winning bid was to be announced within 90 days of the bid closure date, after which it was to begin digging of the channel immediately in order to complete the project within a one-year time frame.{{cite web |last1=الرياض |first1=مكة |title=مصادر لـ"مكة": الاثنين المقبل تنتهي فترة تقديم عروض حفر "قناة سلوى" - صحيفة مكة |url=https://makkahnewspaper.com/article/1079349 |website=makkahnewspaper.com |date=18 June 2018 |language=Arabic}}
The proposed waterway is {{cvt|200|m}} wide and will be dug to a depth of up to {{cvt|20|m}} providing a maximum ship draft of {{cvt|12|m}}. This would allow the canal to accommodate cargo, container and passenger ships up to a length of {{cvt|295|m}}. The preliminary cost has been estimated at SR2.8bn (US$747m). The proposal includes building resorts with private beaches, the construction of ports, the possibility of a free trade zone, a military zone, and a dumping ground for nuclear waste.{{cite news|newspaper=Gulf Business|url=https://gulfbusiness.com/work-set-begin-saudis-salwa-canal-project/|author= |title=Work set to begin on Saudi's Salwa Canal project|date=20 June 2018}}
Saudi media report the project could be completed within 12 months, comparing it to the second, {{cvt|72|km}} lane, of the Suez Canal which took about 12 months to finish.{{cite news |title=Salwa Canal, a Saudi tourism project that means more isolation for Qatar |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2018/04/10/Salwa-Canal-a-Saudi-tourism-project-that-means-more-isolation-for-Qatar.html |accessdate=19 June 2018 |work=Al-Arabiya |language=en}} However, only half of the distance involved digging new waterways while the remainder was only widening existing channels.
Some media sources seem to prefer a route avoiding maritime boundary passing through Khor Al Adaid,{{Cite web|url=http://cementegypt.com/en/category-cemen-news/entry-Sources-Saudi-Arabia-and-the-United-Arab-Emirates-funded-the-Salwa-marine-channel-..-And-implemented-by-Egyptian-companies.html|title = Sources: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates funded the Salwa marine channel .. And implemented by Egyptian companies - Cement News}} which is a bay and nature reserve also under the Tentative List of the World Heritage Site and mostly shared in a maritime border with Qatar.
See also
{{Portal|Saudi Arabia}}