Saudia Arabia and a canal will turn “Terror State Qatar” into an island

Saudichannel
Saudichannel

Turning Qatar into an island of a “terror state” is the nasty goal of Qatar’s big neighbor Saudi Arabia, supported by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. eTN reached out to the Qatar Embassy in Washington DC for comments, but there was no response.

In the meantime, Qatar Airways is booming, announcing new routes, better service and business seems to be going normal in the State of Qatar. Qatar’s news agency Al Jazeera keeps broadcasting strong and loud. Qatar did not follow the demand of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to shut up the Qatar news agency.

In the meantime, the attempt to dig a channel through desert sand to turn Qatar into an island is going full speed and there is no limit on funding. Bidding for construction projects of the Salwa Canal that will separate Saudi Arabia and Qatar will end June 25.

The winner of the tender, for which five international companies have applied, will be announced no later than 90 days after the deadline, Saudi Makkah newspaper reported.

Saudi Arabia’s ambitious project aims to build a water canal near the Qatari border, which will ultimately make the emirate an island nation.

According to the report, the construction will be completed in one year.

On Monday, Saud al-Qahtani, a prominent member of the Saudi Royal Court and adviser to Prince Mohammed bin Salman, retweeted a video with a caption that said: “Starting digging the Salwa Canal. Congratulations to the Saudi people for this wonderful project that will transform the small terrorist state of Qatar into an island.”

Saudi authorities are reportedly considering digging a channel 60 kilometers (37.5 miles) in length and 200 meters wide that will be 15-20 meters deep on the Saudi part of the Salwa Island to create a container base for nuclear waste from its yet-to-be-built reactors.

A 1-kilometer stretch of land north of the channel, bordering Qatar, would become a “military zone,” permanently ending land trade between the two Gulf countries and tightening the blockade.

The project is expected to cost $750 million, take 12 months to complete, and be financed by the private sector as well as Saudi and United Arab Emirates (UAE) investment authorities.

Saudi Arabia, backed by regional states including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, broke off relations with Qatar in June last year, accusing the Gulf state of supporting radical groups and of being too close to Iran — Riyadh’s arch-rival in the region.

The neighboring countries cut Qatar’s air, sea and land routes – creating a de facto blockade – and vowed to isolate Qatar economically until it heeds their demands.

WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:

  • In the meantime, the attempt to dig a channel through desert sand to turn Qatar into an island is going full speed and there is no limit on funding.
  • Saudi Arabia, backed by regional states including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, broke off relations with Qatar in June last year, accusing the Gulf state of supporting radical groups and of being too close to Iran — Riyadh’s arch-rival in the region.
  • In the meantime, Qatar Airways is booming, announcing new routes, better service and business seems to be going normal in the State of Qatar.

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About the author

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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