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Etihad Rail signs MoU with Maqta Gateway Project

By Sam Applegate on Dec 24, 2014 in Bahrain, Freight, Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Oman, Ports, Stations & Terminals, Qatar, Rail, Saudi Arabia, UAE

In a ceremony with hundreds of senior officials from across the UAE, Etihad Rail signed a Memorandum of Understanding to participate in the Maqta Gateway, a system designed to improve the efficiency of all exports and imports through Abu Dhabi Port. The Maqta Gateway project is an electronic and physical gateway allowing shippers, shipping lines, […]

One Third of all GCC Transport Infrastructure Spend on Rail

By Sam Applegate on Dec 23, 2014 in Bahrain, Building, Freight, High Speed Rail, Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Investment, Oman, Passenger Rail, Qatar, Rail, Saudi Arabia, UAE

As the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council invest in regional and national infrastructure, it has come to light that one third of overall spend on infrastructure projects is on railways. Between the six nations, USD $298 billion is planned to be spent on railway projects alone. Of the GCC nations, Saudi Arabia is […]

Etihad Rail Economic Rate of Return Rated at 15%

By Sam Applegate on Dec 21, 2014 in Bahrain, Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Investment, Oman, Qatar, Rail, Saudi Arabia, UAE

An Oxford University economics professor has estimated that the Economic Rate of Return (ERR) of the new Etihad Railway Network will be in the region of 15%. This is as against the minimum ERR suggested by the World Bank of 10%. The ERR is defined as the benefit a project brings right across an economy, […]

GCC Railway Network Behind Schedule?

By Sam Applegate on Dec 19, 2014 in Bahrain, Infrastructure, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE

Last week the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council reaffirmed plans to have the initial phase of the GCC Railway Network in place by 2018 despite widespread doubts that this will be possible. The GCC summit in Doha met to discuss a wide range of issues from regional security to trade and infrastructure. […]

Oman Railway Tender Deadline Pushed to Mid January

By Sam Applegate on Dec 11, 2014 in Infrastructure, Oman, Ports, Stations & Terminals

The tender deadline for the first phase of the Oman Railway Network has been pushed back to January 18 after requests by a number of prequalified consortia. It was originally set for mid December. The tender is a design and build contract for the construction of the railway between Al Ain and Sohar, that will […]

High Tech Security Systems for Dammam Riyadh Railway Line

By Sam Applegate on Nov 26, 2014 in Bahrain, Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Investment, Oman, Qatar, Rail, Saudi Arabia, UAE

UK defence and security firm QinetiQ has been awarded a USD $12 million contract to install a high tech security system along the 1000km line between Dammam and Riyadh. The system should enable maintenance and security teams to resolve any issues within a far shorter time than at present. The OptaSense Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) […]

GCC Railway Network to Boost Economic Growth

By Sam Applegate on Nov 25, 2014 in Bahrain, Freight, Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Investment, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Passenger Rail, Qatar, Rail, Saudi Arabia, UAE

According to Mohsen Ahmad, President of Dubai World Central’s Logistics District, the new GCC Railway Network will help create an era of economic growth when completed in 2018. At present only 6% of Saudi Arabia’s international trade is with the other five nations of the GGC. The new railway network will boost connectivity with the […]

Sohar Eagerly Awaits New Oman Railway

By Sam Applegate on Nov 19, 2014 in Bahrain, Freight, Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Investment, Oman, Ports, Stations & Terminals, Qatar, Rail, Saudi Arabia, UAE

No matter how big a port is, it cannot function without inland connections. It is all very well being able to handle a great capacity but unless it can move goods inland then it can be as big as you like but will still not be able to function properly. The Omani Port of Sohar […]

Railway Business Mushrooms in MENA Region

By Sam Applegate on Nov 14, 2014 in Bahrain, Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Investment, Oman, Passenger Rail, Qatar, Rail, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE

With railway investment said to be in the region of USD $300 billion in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, there has never been a better time to invest in railways in the area. The Emirate of Dubai alone is building over 30,000 km of track, the bulk of which is for high speed […]

Kuwait to Build New Railway Network “Soon”

By Sam Applegate on Nov 13, 2014 in Bahrain, Building, Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Investment, Kuwait, Oman, Passenger Rail, Qatar, Rail, Saudi Arabia, UAE

According to officials, Kuwait is in early planning of its new national railway network. The country is the very last of all the GCC countries to get going on its network, which will form part of the six nation GCC Railway Network. The Kuwaiti railway system will connect Kuwait City with Saudi Arabia and from […]

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