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Thursday 2 June 2011

MENA Region to Invest $250bn in Rail Projects

Engineerblogger
June 02, 2011

Investment in rail projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions are expected to reach $250bn as the region doubles its rail network to 33,000km, according to a new report.

According to the Mena Rail Report 2011 by Meed Insight metro, tram and monorail track lengths are expected to increase tenfold in the region.

More than half of the money will be invested in the Gulf countries where the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, together with Iran and Yemen, are expected to spend around $145bn in rail projects.

The investment will mainly be aimed at improving logistics infrastructure in the region as the countries try to reduce their current reliance on the oil and gas sector as well as improving urban transport to cater to the needs of rapidly growing cities.

The investment is also aimed at improvement in fright movement in the region as countries in the region are planning major fright lines, which include the North-South line in Saudi Arabia, the Shah-Ruwais line in Abu Dhabi, and the new national network in Jordan.

Qatar will be one of the big spenders in rail projects, which plans to complete its $35bn rail projects by 2020, two years ahead of when the country hosts the World Cup.

Qatar plans to build a 358km of rail line, including 119km underground tracks and the project will have more than 100 stations and allow trains to run at a speed of 350 km/h.

Copyrighted from Railway Technology

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