EXCLUSIVE: Abu Dhabi moves on stalled rail project

28 November, 2017 | By JENNIFER AGUINALDO

Abu Dhabi has re-engaged with stakeholders for the design and route alignment for the upcoming phases of Etihad Rail, the UAE’s federal railway network.

This includes the rail project’s second stage, for which procurement was suspended in early 2016.

“We were told Stage 2 is no longer on hold,” a source who was present at a high-level meeting held last week tells MEED.

During the meeting, senior officials at the Abu Dhabi-based Federal Transport Authority and Fujairah Municipality primarily discussed the need for minor revisions to the current route alignment for Stage 3, which will link the railway to Fujairah as well as Ras al-Khaimah and Sharjah.

MEED earlier reported that the client, Etihad Rail, met with stakeholders in late 2016.

However, neither the FTA nor Etihad Rail has officially confirmed reviving the procurement process for Stage 2 so far.

MEED understands securing funding remains a key issue for the succeeding phases of the scheme.

Etihad Rail suspended the procurement for Stage 2 of the 1,200-kilometre national railway in January 2016, following a 30 per cent employee reduction.

The main package for the 628km Stage 2 has been tendered twice. Two groups were believed to have been shortlisted in the first tender. They include:

Salini Impregilo (Italy) / Samsung C&T (South Korea) / Tristar (local)
China Railway Construction Company (China ) / Ghantoot Group (local)

Based on the original design, Stage 2 will connect the railway to Mussafah, to the ports in Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali, and to the Saudi and Omani borders.

Etihad Rail has been operational since late 2015.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is the offtaker for the railway’s first stage, which is used mainly to transport granulated sulphur from Shah and Habshan to the Mirfa depot in Ruwais, from where it is being exported.

Mena projects and the impact of Covid-19

Latest exclusive findings and analysis on the impact of Covid-19 on the Middle East and North Africa projects market Click here to watch the latest update on the impact of Covid-19 and ...

Unlocking Saudi Arabia’s potential as a logistics hub

Rayan Mustafa Qutub, CEO of Ports Development Company, explains the role of King Abdullah Port in the kingdom’s plans to expand its logistics sector The recent signing of a memorandum of ...

Opec+ to gradually raise oil output

The 23-nation grouping has agreed to collectively raise output by 500,000 b/d from January 2021 Oil producers from Opec and their non-Opec allies, after days of intense back and forth discussions, agreed ...

Mena healthcare poised for post Covid-19 growth

Healthcare project pipelines are growing in the Gulf and Egypt as vaccine development gains traction The Covid-19 pandemic has redirected focus on the Middle East’s pharmaceuticals and healthcare sectors. Regional vaccine development ...

The Journey to Possible

https://youtu.be/QIHZ9f2gECY

Egypt upstream gas exploration gathers speed

Rising output from the mammoth Zohr gas field, coupled with ambitions to augment its reserves, have helped Cairo regain its gas exporter status after a five-year hiatus Italian energy major Eni’s ...

Egypt construction growth to slow in 2020

Construction outlook downgraded as Covid-19 puts pressure on government revenues this year The construction output growth forecast for Egypt has been reduced to 7.7 per cent in 2020, with further downward revision ...

BROADCAST 1: The new realities of construction in the region – Highlights

On 25 October, the first episode of the MEED Mashreq broadcast series took place. For this inaugural broadcast, we welcomed an expert panel to discuss the new realities of the construction sector ...

Dubai to spend less on infrastructure in 2019

Budgeted spending allocated for infrastructure in 2019 drops 22.6 per cent compared with 2018 Dubai’s budget for 2019 has 22.6 per cent less spending allocated to infrastructure projects compared with the ...

PPPs expected to take off in UAE

With the political will to use the public-private partnership model and the bureaucratic infrastructure in place, the outlook for PPPs is positive in the UAE Outside the power and water sectors, ...