NOVEMBER 18, 2002

Bahrain aims for March 2004 completion

Work has begun in earnest on the construction of the new Grand Prix circuit in Bahrain and if all goes to plan the construction will be completed in 16 months, in time for the start of the 2004 Formula 1 season. The construction work is being carried out by a local building contractor and by the Malaysian firm WCT Engineering, which built the Sepang circuit outside Kuala Lumpur. The first major work in Bahrain was the blasting of rock at the site near Sakhir. This has now created a space for a vehicle access tunnel for the pit and paddock area and what will become a dramatic "canyon" through which the cars will race. Further excavation will eventually result in half a million cubic metres of rock being moved.