OMAN: UAE to Oman railway project promoter Hafeet Rail has awarded contracts for the construction of two freight facilities and the supply of wagons. It has also reached an agreement for the transport of aggregates on the future line.
Larson & Toubro and Power China are to design and build ‘state-of-the-art’ logistics facilities with advanced automation and control to handle bulk, containerised and breakbulk cargo at Al Buraimi and in the port city of Sohar. The Sohar site will include provision for locomotive and wagon maintenance.
CRRC has been awarded a contract to supply high-performance wagons for various types of freight, including bulk commodities and containers. In October, Progress Rail was awarded a contact to supply 27 EMD SD70ACS diesel locomotives for the line.
A heads of terms agreement with steel and construction materials company Emsteel establishes a long-term partnership for the transport of 4·2 million tonnes of limestone and red shale from Oman to the UAE over 15 years.
The latest agreements announced on February 7 represent ‘a transformative step in advancing economic integration between the UAE and Oman’, said Ahmed Al Musawa Al Hashemi, CEO of the Hafeet Rail joint venture formed by Oman Rail and the UAE’s Etihad Rail and Mubadala Investment Co.
He said the railway would ’unlock new trade routes, optimise supply chain efficiencies and stimulate sustainable economic growth, creating long-term value for businesses and communities across both countries’.
