The construction of the GCC railway network connecting Qatar to neighbouring Saudi Arabia will begin soon, the country’s transport minister has said, according to local media reports.
In a report by Doha News, citing Jassim Saif Ahmed asSulaiti, Qatar’s Minister of Transport, sponsorship offers and bids for the long-awaited railway are expected to go out this year.
“All necessary groundwork to implement the grand project has been completed, including the detailed engineering designs and work plan,” he was quoted as saying.
The 2,177km long Gulf Railway is a proposed railway system that will connect all six of the GCC countries in Eastern Arabia. The project is expected to cost $250 billion, which will be shared by the six countries, in accordance with the length of the rail network in their territories.
Furthermore, each country will be responsible for the implementation of their portion of the project, along with construction of their own railway lines, branch stations and freight terminals.
Saudi Arabia and UAE will consequently spend the most on the project, due to their size – they will be followed by Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain respectively.
Qatar Rail is the development authority for the network in Qatar, while Etihad Rail in the UAE and Oman Rail in the Sultanate, are supervising their portions of the project.
The distribution of the network will see Qatar connected to Saudi Arabia, with the railway being used toto transport goods and passengers from and to both countries within a few hours, providing an ease and efficiency of travel between the two countries.