K&A Appointed to Design Basra Ring Road in Iraq
Since 2018, Khatib & Alami (K&A) has become the leading international consultant working in Iraq’s southern city of Basra – a position that has been further reinforced with our appointment to prepare the design and tender documents for the high-profile Basra Ring Road project.
The 89 km circular route, which is expected to include ten road bridges crossing rivers & water channels, 8 pedestrian bridges and 16 interchange, is set to cut travel times and reduce congestion and pollution across Basra, helping to drive economic growth and investment.
Improved trade links
The free-flowing route around the new Ring Road will also provide safe, fast and reliable journey times to major national highways and Basra International Airport, which will further boost trade and enhance connections both inside Iraq and internationally. Dr. Najib Khatib, Chairman and CEO, said: “We are proud to have been chosen by Basra Governorate to deliver this important project, which is set to provide significant social, economic and environmental benefits for the city and its people”. “K&A has more than 50 years’ experience in planning, designing and supervising world-class road, highway and expressway projects, and we look forward to drawing on the full breadth of our expertise to ensure the success of Basra Ring Road.” The project consists of several lanes of highway in each direction, separated by a central reservation that will in the future accommodate a metro line or other public transit system. In addition to service roads and landscaping, the project also includes a cycle path and walkways for pedestrians. One of the key engineering challenges is a steel cable suspension bridge over the Shatt al-Arab River.
Our Roads and Highways department is enjoying a busy period thanks to both ongoing work and a number of new projects. In addition to Basra Ring Road, these include:
Improvement of Hessa Street, Dubai
- Hessa Street (D61) is one of the major East-West Corridors that connects Sheikh Zayed Road (E11) to the west and Emirates Road (E611) to the East. The project covers the upgrading of the corridor extending between Sheikh Zayed Road (E11) and Al Khail Road (E44) to alleviate traffic congestion and ensure easy access to surrounding developments.
Garn Al Sabka Street, Dubai
- The Interchange of Gharn Al Sabkha and Sh. Mohammed Bin Zayed (MBZ) Road is to be improved to enable the free flow of traffic along MBZ Road and secure accessibility to nearby future developments and land uses.
Hatta, Dubai
- The Project comprises the improvement of Dubai-Hatta Road (E44) between Jebel Ali Lehbab Road (E77) and the S149. It also includes the improvement of Jebel Ali-Lehbab Road (E77) and E44 from the first roundabout before E44 / E77.
Abdullah Bin Saud Axis Road, Riyadh
- Our scope includes comprehensive analysis and studies to determine the current and future state of the traffic at both the city level and the local level, and to identify challenges and opportunities of solutions. Our team will prepare preliminary designs for various options, and then detailed design and tender documentation for the chosen solution.
NEOM, Saudi Arabia
- The design of temporary mountain roads along Sharma Valley to support the construction activities of various projects at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM megaproject.
Soudah Infrastructure Master Planning and Design, Saudi Arabia
- As Lead Infrastructure Consultant, our team will support the development of Soudah, in the Asir region of south-west Saudi Arabia. The area is to become a luxury mountain destination with immersive cultural experiences, while making the most of the region’s spectacular mountainous landscape.
Regenerating Basra
K&A has been playing an important role in the regeneration of Basra since 2018, when we were appointed by Basra Governorate to establish an implementation strategy to transform the region’s water network. The strategy includes the delivery of 16 new large-scale projects, including water treatment and desalination plants with a total capacity of 1 million m³/day.
Our water experts are also delivering the full water infrastructure design and construction supervision for the districts of Touba and Nakheela, Al-Qornah and Al-Zubheir. The total project area is around 55 km2, including 1,740 km of wet utilities networks. These vital projects will bring safe, clean drinking water to the people of Basra for the first time in 30 years. In addition, K&A completed the design for a new land port in Safwan, Basra, at the border between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Kuwait. Subject to authority approvals, the project will enhance the passage of commercial goods and people by increasing capacity to around 1,000 vehicles per day, with the seamless separation of traffic between commercial goods and travelers. “Basra is a city of deep economic, historic and cultural significance for Iraq, and we are honored to be assisting Basra Governorate in achieving its vision of restoration and resurgence,” adds Dr. Najib. “Our local knowledge of Basra will be hugely beneficial in enabling us to design a project which truly meets the needs of the city.”