Work on the UAE’s part of a GCC-wide rail network could start as early as the end of next year, Hussein Jassim Al Nuwais, chairman of the Etihad (Union) Railways Company has announced.
Tenders for the AED30bn project which will run 1,100km from the Saudi Arabian border to the west to Oman to the east will be invited early in 2010, he added.
Nuwais, in comments published by news agency WAM, said that the Etihad Railways “was one of the most vital and strategic projects to be implemented by the state within its ongoing quest to achieve more comprehensive development”.
He added that the railway line to be built in the UAE would be part of a regional $25bn railway network linking the GCC states, designed to enhance bilateral trade and facilitate the movement of goods and passengers between the Gulf states.
Nuwais said that the project would be funded through direct funding as well as through local and international banks and the issuance of bonds designed for this project.
He added that phased funding will be achieved over a total period of five to seven years.
Tenders for the engineering design and other technical sides of the project will be invited early next year, with the execution of the project to commence by the end of 2010, Nuwais added.
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