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Oman : $35 Million railway deal signed by Oman
Publish Date : 10-Feb-2014
A 13.6 million rial ($35.3m) deal is signed by Oman with Italferr, the Italian state railways engineering firm, for consultancy services on the initial design of its multibillion-dollar railway project.
Minister of Transport and Communications Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Futaisi said that a pre-qualification tender for railway construction will hopefully be launched soon.
He said, "The first contractor will be awarded the actual work early in 2015".
The state-funded, 2,244km rail network would link the desert town of Buraimi, bordering the UAE, to six major settlements in Oman, together with the industrial city of Sohar and the port of Salalah, seen as the region's future gateway to Africa.
Officials have expected the final cost of the project at around $15 Billion. It would finally connect to a planned rail network across the GCC, and sooner or later to Yemen.
Oman, which will face contest in financing its state budget and generating employment for its citizens in coming years, has stated that it expects its railway network to be completely operational by 2018.
The railway could assist diversify Oman's economy beyond oil and gas by making easy trade and industrial projects, while increasing the geopolitical security of Gulf states by giving them a major trade route bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
