Bubiyan Island

Bubiyan Island (Arabic: جزيرة بوبيان) is the largest island in the Kuwaiti coastal island chain situated in the north-western corner of the Persian Gulf, with an area of 863 km2 (333 sq mi). Bubiyan Island is part of the Shatt al-Arab delta.[2] The Mubarak Al Kabeer Port is currently under construction on the island.[3][4][5][6] As part of Mubarak Al Kabeer Port's development, there are plans for Bubiyan Island to contain power plants and substations.[7][4][8][9] A 5,000-megawatt power plant has already been built in the neighbouring Kuwaiti region of Subiya.[10]

Bubyan Island
Native name:
جزيرة بوبيان
False-color satellite image of Kuwaiti islands at the northwest corner of the Persian Gulf. Bubiyan is the light-blue mass taking up most of the right side of the image.
Location of Bubiyan Island in Kuwait
Geography
LocationPersian Gulf
Coordinates29°47′N 48°11′E
Area863 km2 (333 sq mi)
Length40 km (25 mi)
Width24 km (14.9 mi)
Highest elevation322 ft (98.1 m)
Highest pointUnnamed Point
Administration
Demographics
Populationuninhabited
Designations
Official nameMubarak Al-Kabeer Reserve
Designated5 September 2015
Reference no.2239[1]

History

Antiquity

Bubiyan was formed by debris from the Tigris–Euphrates river.[2] There is archaeological evidence of Sassanian (300–650 AD) to early Islamic (650–800 AD) periods of human presence on Bubiyan as evidenced by the recent discovery of torpedo-jar pottery sherds on several prominent beach ridges.[2]

Gulf War

During the Gulf War of 1991, there was a big oil spill in the area; in addition to this, four spans of the bridge were destroyed; they were rebuilt in 1999.[11] The island itself was converted to a military base in 1991.[12] In November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait which had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions 687 (1991), 773 (1992), and 833 (1993) which formally ended an earlier claim to Bubiyan Island.[13] The Iranian mainland is also very close to the island.

Ramsar Convention

In response to Kuwait becoming the 169th signatory of the Ramsar Convention, the Mubarak al-Kabeer reserve was designated as the country's first Wetland of International Importance. The 50,948 hectare reserve consists of small lagoons and shallow salt marshes and is important as a stop-over for migrating birds on two migration routes; Turkey to India and Eurasia to Africa. Breeding water-birds include the world's largest breeding colony of Crab-plover (Dromas ardeola), and the surrounding sea is major nursery for many commercial fish species.[14]

Geography

The island is mainly flat, while salt marshes cover some coasts. There are several intermittent wadis in the center of the island.[15] It is separated from the Iraqi coast in the northeast by the Al-Zubayr channel and from the Kuwaiti mainland in the southwest by the Al-Sabiyyah channel.[15] The latter channel trends around the northern end of Bubiyan Island, separating it from Warbah Island. 5.4 km (3 mi) northwest of Ras al Barshah, the southernmost point, Bubiyan is linked to the mainland by a concrete girder bridge over the Khawr as Sabiyah channel, 2.38 km (1.48 mi)[16] long, built in 1981-1983 and opened February 1983.[17]

During high spring tides and southerly gales the wet, low lying mud flats that make up most of the island are encroached upon by sea water.[18] The island is considered to be at risk of inundation due to sea level rise.[19]

Mubarak Al Kabeer Port
Main article: Mubarak Al Kabeer Port

Mubarak Al Kabeer Port is part of China's Belt and Road Initiative.[20][21] Under China's Belt and Road Initiative, the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port is part of the first phase of the Silk City project.[20][21] In September 2020, it was reported that the port is 53% complete.[22] In March 2021, it was announced that Kuwait and Pakistan will develop linkages between Gwadar Port and Mubarak Al Kabeer Port.[23][24] The Mubarak Al Kabeer Port is currently under construction.[3][4][5][6] As part of Mubarak Al Kabeer Port's development, Bubiyan Island will contain power plants and substations.[7][4][8][9] A 5,000-megawatt power plant has already been built in Subiya.[10]

In literature

The island is mentioned in the 1933 science fiction work The Shape of Things to Come by H. G. Wells, in which it provides the recreational facilities for a conference at Basra.[25]

See also

References
  1. "Mubarak Al-Kabeer Reserve". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. Reinink-Smith, Linda; Carter, Robert (2022). "Late Holocene development of Bubiyan Island, Kuwait". Quaternary Research. 109: 16–38. Bibcode:2022QuRes.109...16R. doi:10.1017/qua.2022.3. S2CID 248250022.
  3. "الأشغال تنتظر مقاول ميناء مبارك لتسلم المرحلة الأولى ابتدائياً". Al Rai (in Arabic). 30 March 2021.
  4. Ranju Warrier (19 February 2021). "Elsewedy Electric unit bags $53.2m contract for Kuwait's Boubyan substation". Construction Week.
  5. "المجلس الوزراء الكويتي يعقد اجتماعه الاسبوعي - حكومة - 15/03/2021 - كونا". Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) (in Arabic). 15 March 2021. ثم أحيط مجلس الوزراء علماً بتوصية اللجنة بشأن إفادة وزير الأشغال العامة عن الأعمال التنفيذية لتشغيل المرحلة الأولى من مشروع ميناء مبارك الكبير، والترتيبات القانونية والإدارية والتعاقدية لتنفيذه
  6. "جهاز الحرير وبوبيان يستكمل ميناء مبارك الكبير بعد... 2024". Al Rai (in Arabic). 26 April 2021.
  7. "Connecting Boubyan Island Area in Kuwait". Elsewedy Electric. March 2021.
  8. "Kuwait's MEW to float tender for transmission stations". Zawya. 23 March 2021.
  9. "Elsewedy unit inks project in Kuwait". Zawya. 17 February 2021.
  10. "Kuwait inaugurates massive causeway to free trade zone". France24. 1 May 2019.
  11. p.9
  12. "Kuwait Geography and Population". Archived from the original on 2017-09-05. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  13. "CIA World Fact Book - Iraq". everything2.com. 2007-01-14.
  14. Ramsar (7 September 2015). "Kuiwait becomes Ramsar state". BirdGuides. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  15. "Bubiyan | island, Kuwait". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
  16. Bubiyan Bridge at Structurae
  17. "CRBC". Archived from the original on 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  18. El-Baz, Farouk; Makharita, R.M. (2016). The Gulf War and the Environment. War and Security in the Middle East. Routledge. p. 26. ISBN 9781317219880.
  19. Neelamani, Subramaniam; Al-Shatti, F. (January 2014). "The expected sea-level rise scenarios and its impacts on the Kuwaiti coast and estuarine wetlands". International Journal of Ecology & Development. 29 (3): 32–43. ISSN 0973-7308.
  20. "China and Kuwait to Build New Port". Port Technology. 21 February 2019.
  21. "Phase One of Kuwait's BRI-Backed US$130 Billion Silk City Opens". Hong Kong Trade Development Council. 10 June 2019.
  22. "Kuwait SCPD provides updates on $10.4bn worth of projects". Middle East Construction News. 20 September 2020. On the other projects, the top Kuwaiti official said the work on Mubarak Al Kabeer Port project had reached 52.7% completion
  23. "Pakistan, Kuwait agree to develop linkages b/w Gwadar & Mubarak Al Kabeer Port". radio.gov.pk. 18 March 2021.
  24. "Pakistan, Kuwait agree to strengthen links between Gwadar, Mubarak Al Kabeer ports". arabnews.pk. 19 March 2021.
  25. De Gaury, Gerald (1961). Three Kings in Baghdad, 1921–1958. Hutchinson. p. 120.
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