Saudi Arabia intends to literally carve up the Arabian Peninsula to spite its tiny neighbour Qatar, inviting companies to construct a canal that would turn the emirate into an island, according to Saudi media reports.

The kingdom, which has led a blockade on Qatar for more than a year, has invited five companies to bid for the project, Mekkah newspaper reported, adding that a Saudi military base would be built in the kilometre-deep buffer zone between the future “Salwa Canal” and Qatar.

“Qatar won’t be an independent island after this project,” the newspaper quoted “geopolitical experts” as saying.

The project had been first floated in the kingdom’s media in April, when the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya broadcaster said the 60km by 200m canal would include a tourist resort and a nuclear waste dump in addition to the military base.

There was no official Saudi confirmation of the project. The Mekkah newspaper said the contact winner would be announced within three months.

Some Saudis celebrated the news. “Yet another historical moment for our country, we are changing geography of the world (sic),” wrote one on Twitter.