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UAE rail project to open for bidding within two months
DUBAI — Union Railways Co,, which is to develop the 1,500-kilometre railway across the UAE, said it plans to open the $11 billion project to interested bidders in the next two months.
We will start a formal process to seek expressions of interest in the relatively near future,” Chief Executive of the government-owned firm Richard Bowker said on the sidelines of a rail conference on Tuesday.
“Expressions of interest will begin in the next two months,” Bowker earlier told the conference, noting that the 1,500 kilometre railway network will operate on diesel engine but can be converted to electric.
The UAE rail project, scheduled for completion in seven to eight years, is one among the several mega rail projects in the pipeline in the Middle East involving an estimated total investment of more than $100 billion over the next 10 years.
The first phase of the UAE project will be a 270-kilometre freight rail line linking Abu Dhabi’s Shah sour gas field to Ruwais.
Union Railways plans to begin operating the first phase of the network in 2013.
Bowker said an industry workshop was conducted in Abu Dhabi on March 24, attracting local, regional and international interest.
“We are confident we are going to get a very competitive set of tenders when we come to do that,” he said.
The preliminary survey is already underway, and the engineering team is building holes in the ground, he said.
Bowker said the company was in discussions with companies such as ADNOC, Emirates Steel Industries, Arkan and others to market the project and its services.
Dr Arash Aghdam, Director of Rail and Transit in the Middle East of AECOM, a leading global provider of professional services in transit and freight rail, said current and planned investments in rail projects exceeding $100 billion over the next ten years will ensure the Middle East is one of the global transporation hotspots over the next 15 years.
He said the new rail projects under way come at a critical time for the transportation industry in the Middle East. “These projects are expected to deliver sustainable environmental and economic solutions that will not only facilitate the movement of people throughout the region, but will become an important catalyst in the development of the region’s industrial foundation,” said Dr Aghdam. The region’s transportation development will involve freight and minerals as well as passenger rail services that include metro, light rail trains and high speed intercity rail.
“This focus on rail and transit comes at a time when policies and regulations are being developed and significant focus is being directed toward designing effective solutions that move people and freight more easily, safely and faster,” said Dr Aghdam.
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