04 January 2010
KUWAIT: Kuwait will be the starting point of a $25 billion rail project to link the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Tenders for the GCC's proposed regional rail network are set to be floated in the first quarter of 2010, according to comments from a senior official of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Mohammad Bin Obeid Al-Mazroui, GCC assistant Secretary-General for economic affairs, said in a statement published in the press yesterday that up to five firms would be shortlisted. He also indicated that either a single company would be chosen for the execution of the project or a number of companies will come together to do it as part of a consortium.
The GCC states will be linked with a 2,117 kilometers long network, starting in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia before construction of the lines linking Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE. Al-Mazroui confirmed that it was hoped to get the project up and running by 2017.
Train services across the six GCC states will facilitate movement and travel of GCC citizens as well as expatriates and boost regional trade," Al-Mazroui said.
A report by a Kuwait-based center last week said GCC nations are planning to invest a total of $109 billion on rail projects in the next 10 years as officials look to solve traffic congestion issues.
The report said investments in railway projects would increase dramatically in the region over the next decade. The supply-side analysis of expected investments indicates that the GCC region could see investments totaling $109 billion - based on the announced projects in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the pan GCC project.
The center said in its report that said these projects were "crucial" to relieve the stress on the road system in the GCC region. "Already some of the countries in GCC have put forward plans for alternative transport systems such as the Dubai metro and Saudi Arabia's various rail plans. We believe that this might result in relieving some amount of stress from the road network," the report added.
Also, the pan GCC railways planned at an overall cost of $60 billion will open lot of interesting opportunities for pan GCC travelers. Currently, the only option to travel across GCC is either by road or by air," it said.
Saudi Arabia is currently the only GCC country to have a railway, although the network is still in the nascent stage. Dubai has recently launched its metro system but the GCC region's growing population is increasing demand for transport infrastructure, the report said.
Consequently, congestion on roads has increased. Growing trade has also contributed to the congestion. This has spurred the governments of several GCC countries to look at inter- and intra-city railways as a viable option," its report added.
The majority of the countries in the GCC fared poorly when compared to developed nations on fatality rates on the roads, it said. In the US and UK, the number of fatalities per 1,000 people is at 13.68 and 19.11 respectively, compared to 30.7 in Oman and 26.32 in Saudi Arabia.
KUWAIT: Kuwait will be the starting point of a $25 billion rail project to link the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Tenders for the GCC's proposed regional rail network are set to be floated in the first quarter of 2010, according to comments from a senior official of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Mohammad Bin Obeid Al-Mazroui, GCC assistant Secretary-General for economic affairs, said in a statement published in the press yesterday that up to five firms would be shortlisted. He also indicated that either a single company would be chosen for the execution of the project or a number of companies will come together to do it as part of a consortium.
The GCC states will be linked with a 2,117 kilometers long network, starting in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia before construction of the lines linking Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE. Al-Mazroui confirmed that it was hoped to get the project up and running by 2017.
Train services across the six GCC states will facilitate movement and travel of GCC citizens as well as expatriates and boost regional trade," Al-Mazroui said.
A report by a Kuwait-based center last week said GCC nations are planning to invest a total of $109 billion on rail projects in the next 10 years as officials look to solve traffic congestion issues.
The report said investments in railway projects would increase dramatically in the region over the next decade. The supply-side analysis of expected investments indicates that the GCC region could see investments totaling $109 billion - based on the announced projects in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the pan GCC project.
The center said in its report that said these projects were "crucial" to relieve the stress on the road system in the GCC region. "Already some of the countries in GCC have put forward plans for alternative transport systems such as the Dubai metro and Saudi Arabia's various rail plans. We believe that this might result in relieving some amount of stress from the road network," the report added.
Also, the pan GCC railways planned at an overall cost of $60 billion will open lot of interesting opportunities for pan GCC travelers. Currently, the only option to travel across GCC is either by road or by air," it said.
Saudi Arabia is currently the only GCC country to have a railway, although the network is still in the nascent stage. Dubai has recently launched its metro system but the GCC region's growing population is increasing demand for transport infrastructure, the report said.
Consequently, congestion on roads has increased. Growing trade has also contributed to the congestion. This has spurred the governments of several GCC countries to look at inter- and intra-city railways as a viable option," its report added.
The majority of the countries in the GCC fared poorly when compared to developed nations on fatality rates on the roads, it said. In the US and UK, the number of fatalities per 1,000 people is at 13.68 and 19.11 respectively, compared to 30.7 in Oman and 26.32 in Saudi Arabia.
© Kuwait Times 2010
