Gulf Construction Online - Etihad Rail flags off $1.2bn Stage Two deals

UAE Focus

Etihad Rail ... connecting key hubs.

Etihad Rail flags off $1.2bn Stage Two deals

01 July 2019

Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE national railway, has given the go-ahead for the civil and track works of Packages B and C worth Dh4.4 billion ($1.2 billion) for Stage Two of the stretch connecting Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The contracts, approved during a board meeting chaired by Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of Etihad Rail, were awarded to China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and Ghantoot Transport & General Contracting Company, reported Emirates News Agency Wam.

Package B runs for 216 km, and Package C runs for 94 km, and the two packages are part of the 605 km line from Ghuweifat to the Port of Fujairah on the eastern coast.

Sheikh Theyab said the launch of Packages B and C as part of the second stage of this project to connect all of the emirates is a milestone in the future prospects of the UAE. The importance of the two packages lies in the fact that they link Khalifa Port, Khalifa Industrial City (Kizad), and Jebel Ali Port.

The project includes links to strategic ports and industrial areas nationwide, along a distance of 310 km. It is the backbone of the UAE national railway network, upgrading the transport and shipping industry by connecting ports, manufacturing and production points, as well as urban locations.

The works on this part of Stage Two focus on the design and construction of rail infrastructure, including earth works, bridges, tunnels, animal-crossings and track-laying, connecting Package B with Package A, and Package C with Package B.

Sheikh Theyab said: “Etihad Rail will sustain the growth of our transport industry and freight carriage sector throughout the UAE.”

He added that Etihad Rail’s strategy is to build a railway network consistent with its clients’ needs, and has signed a number of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with national companies who are looking to use the railway network as a business solution, especially since goods of all kinds can be transported on railways at lower cost and more efficiently compared with traditional transport means.

Etihad Rail has previously awarded Package A to a consortium of the China State Construction Engineering Corporation and South Korea’s SK Engineering and Construction. When complete, the 1,200-km Etihad Rail project will link the UAE’s principal centres of industry, manufacturing, production, population, and import/export points, forming an integral part of the GCC-wide railway network.

Etihad Rail has successfully completed Stage One of the network which is now fully operational having been delivered on schedule and within budget. The route spans 264 km, transporting sulphur from sources at Shah and Habshan to the export point at Ruwais. Stage Two links the UAE and Saudi Arabia from Fujairah to Ghuweifat via Mussafah, Khalifa Port and Jebel Ali Port.