E-mail Article
Printer Friendly
Share Article
Cost of GCC rail link rockets to $20-25bn - official
The estimated cost of the proposed GCC rail network project has jumped from $14bn to between $20-25bn, it was reported on Wednesday.
The significant increase was the result of improvements to the specifications ordered by the rulers of the GCC member-states, said Mohammed Obaid Al Mazrouie, the organisation's assistant secretary-general for Economic Affairs.
He added that if the project is approved, trains could be running across the Gulf states by 2017.
In comments published by Emirates Business, Al Mazrouie said the costs of the project which will link the six Gulf states will be shared, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE contributing the most because the largest parts of the network will be built on their territory.
"An international partnership has been asked to compile the study and work on it began a few days ago," Al Mazrouie added on the sidelines of the 33rd meeting of the Council of Governors of Arab Central Banks and Monetary Agencies.
He told the paper a technical committee had recently been formed to prepare for the construction of the railway, adding that the Dubai Metro was a major driving force behind the moves to establish a Gulf network.
"The Metro is a project that encourages the idea of the use of trains in GCC member-states. We believe the Gulf countries will benefit greatly from the example of the Metro as they set up similar projects," he said.
Quick Links(Residental)
Filter by address:
Comments 1-1 of 1
Posted by Bobby Cherian, Bahrain, Bahrain on 30 September 2009 at 15:15 UAE time
If the entire GCC gets networked through railways, it would benefit not only trade and commerce but also bond people into one culture & weave the entire region into one fabric.
It's terribly futile to waste 2 - 3 hours checking in for a 20 minute flight and waste another hour checking travelling to a near by country like Qatar that is mere few minutes boat ride from Al Dur/ Hawar island.
Besides, travelling time to UAE and Saudi too could be reduced considering no check ins/ check outs.
If all the GCC countries sit together and work on it seriously, it would change the overall dynamics of the region instead of making Air Bus and Boeing wealthy. The time to begin the work is now because if not today, they have to tomorrow.