Is the Salman Canal Project More Than a Waterway?

Some projects are born from necessity. Others are born from ambition.
The Salman Canal Project sits firmly in the second category.

First discussed seriously around 2015, the Salman Canal is not just an infrastructure idea—it’s a bold thought experiment about how geography, trade, and national strategy could be reshaped. The concept proposes a man-made canal cutting across Saudi Arabia, linking the Arabian Gulf to the Red Sea and offering an alternative to one of the world’s most sensitive maritime chokepoints: the Strait of Hormuz.

On paper, it sounds almost unreal. But that’s exactly why it has captured so much attention.

What Is the Salman Canal Project, Really?

At its core, the Salman Canal is a proposed shipping corridor:

• Length: roughly 950–960 km
• Depth: around 25 meters, deep enough for large container vessels
• Width: approximately 150 meters for two-way traffic
• Estimated cost: USD 80–100 billion
• Terrain: the Rub’ al-Khali, also known as the Empty Quarter—one of the harshest deserts on Earth

This wouldn’t just be a canal. It would be a complete re-engineering of land, logistics, and long-term planning at a continental scale.

Why Would a Country Even Consider This?

To understand the Salman Canal, you have to think beyond shipping.

A Strategic Safety Valve

Global trade and energy supply routes are vulnerable. The Strait of Hormuz has long been a geopolitical pressure point. A land-based alternative controlled entirely within national borders offers strategic breathing room—less exposure, more autonomy, and greater resilience.

An Economic Repositioning

The canal was envisioned as more than a shortcut for ships. Along its route, it could enable:

• New ports and logistics hubs
• Industrial zones and economic cities
• Tourism developments and waterfront urban areas

In many ways, it aligns naturally with the broader idea of economic diversification—moving from an oil-dependent economy to one powered by logistics, trade, services, and industry.

Regional Development

One of the most striking ideas behind the project is social impact:

• Hundreds of thousands of jobs during construction
• Long-term employment in operations, shipping, maintenance, and city management
• Over 1,100 km of new artificial coastline, unlocking land value where none previously existed

For regions that have historically been underdeveloped, this could have meant a complete transformation.

The Environmental Reality Check

Projects of this scale don’t come without serious questions.

A canal through a desert raises concerns about:

• Water loss due to evaporation
• Disruption to desert ecosystems
• Changes in micro-climates
• Marine ecosystem balance at both sea entry points

At the same time, it also opens doors:

• Renewable energy-powered pumping and operations
• Purpose-built environmental monitoring systems
• Controlled urban planning instead of unplanned sprawl

In modern mega-projects, sustainability isn’t optional—it’s the difference between vision and viability.

From a Project Management Lens

If executed, the Salman Canal would sit among the most complex projects ever attempted.

It would require:

• Massive dredging and earthworks
• Advanced marine and geotechnical engineering
• Long-term sovereign financing or PPP structures
• Cross-disciplinary governance and risk management
• Decades of planning, construction, and phased delivery

Even for countries experienced in mega-projects, this would be a generational undertaking.

So… Will It Ever Be Built?

That remains uncertain.

What matters, however, is not only whether the Salman Canal becomes reality but what it represents.

It represents how modern nations think about:

• Strategic independence
• Long-term economic transformation
• Using infrastructure as a geopolitical tool
• Balancing ambition with feasibility

Some ideas exist to be built.
Others exist to push the boundaries of what nations believe is possible.

Final Thought

The Salman Canal is not just about connecting two seas.

It’s about connecting strategy with infrastructure, vision with execution, and national ambition with global reality. Whether it remains a concept or becomes concrete, it stands as a powerful reminder that the biggest projects often start as bold questions:

What if we redesigned the map itself?