Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE national railway, has awarded the tender for the Dh1.5-billion ($408 million) Package A of Stage Two of the UAE National Rail Network to a joint venture of China State Construction Engineering Corporation and Korea’s SK Engineering and Construction.
Package A of Stage Two of the UAE National Rail Network connects UAE’s Ruwais with Ghuweifat on the Saudi border. The scope of work includes all design and build, civil and track works of the 139-km long rail network line, said a statement from Etihad Rail.
Stage Two, when complete, will run for 605 km from Ghuweifat to the Port of Fujairah, it stated.
The awarding of the contract was made at the Etihad Rail board meeting held in the presence of chairman Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.
The deals were signed by Etihad Rail CEO Shadi Malak along with China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East president and CEO Yu Tao and SK E&C vice president Hyuntae Nam.
Package A will focus on the design and construction of rail infrastructure, including earthworks, bridges, tunnels, animal crossing, track-laying, and linking with Stage One of the network.
The entire route will feature standard-gauge double track that will be built using 1.3 million tonnes of ballast, over 400,000 concrete sleepers, and 33,000 tonnes of iron rail.
When complete, the 1,200-km-long 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.
Sheikh Theyab expressed his delight at the rapid progress being made on the project, referring to the contract announcement as a major milestone passed in the organisation’s mission to create the UAE’s modern, sustainable and cost-efficient national railway.
“With the commencement of this first phase of Stage Two, we are reaching a major turning point in the transportation sector in the UAE and GCC,” remarked the top official.
“Pioneering and innovative, this initial link is just the beginning, as Etihad Rail expands its network to improve all aspects of freight transport across our border and around the region, placing the UAE at the center of regional goods movement as a global logistics hub,” he stated.
Etihad Rail is working diligently and efficiently towards awarding contracts for the rest of Stage Two over the coming months, he added.
TradeArabia News Service
11/03/2019
