“Starting [to dig] the Salwa Canal. Congratulations to the Saudi people for this wonderful project that will transform the small terrorist state of Qatar into an island.”[1]This was a video caption by Saud al-Qahtani, adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when he retweeted a video on June 18, 2018.
In April 2018, Saudi Arabia announced plans to dig a 60 km canal stretching from Salwa to Khor al Adaid, which would turn Qatar into an island. It is anticipated that the canal will be completed by 2019. The planned canal, expected to cost SAR2.8bn (around $750m) will be 200 meters wide and 15 to 20 meters deep.[2] The water channel will also allow ships up to 300 meters long and 32 meters wide to pass.[3]
