Sheikh Theyab Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and Chairman of Etihad Rail, has supervised a board meeting during which he approved a Dhs4.6 billion tender for the civil works and construction of Package D of Stage Two of the UAE’s national railway. Package D will link the ports of Fujairah and Khorfakkan to the network at the Dubai border with Sharjah, and stretches over a distance of 145 kilometres. Through  connecting key ports to manufacturing, production and population centers, Package D will connect to quarries for building material in the Northern Emirates, contributing to the improvement of the transport and infrastructure industries in the UAE.

Etihad Rail awarded the contract of Package D to a joint venture of the China Railway Construction Corporation, CRCC, and National  Projects and Construction, NPC. The agreement signing was attended by Sheikh Theyab Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed and Wenzhong Wang, Vice President of the China Railway Construction Corporation and the agreement was signed by Shadi Malak, Etihad Rail  Chief Executive Officer, Zhao Dianlong, the representative of CRCC and Hamad Al Amri, Managing Director of of NPC.

Speaking on the importance of the contract, Sheikh Theyab Bin Mohamed said: “The awarding of this contract is a highly  significant achievement as Etihad Rail follows its path to progressing one of the most important and economically strategic projects in the UAE. While expanding a vital sector that constitutes the lifeline of our national economy, we continue to provide a  safe, modern, and sustainable national railway network that meets the aspirations and expectations of our nation and its leaders, supporting the UAE’s position as a major link in the regional and global supply chain, and as a key player in the logistics system.”

The 145-kilometer Package D includes the construction of 15 tunnels through the Hajar Mountains with a total length of 16 kilometres,  in addition to the construction of 35 bridges and 32 underpasses.

Linking the ports of Fujairah and Khorfakkan to the railway network, will allow the transportation of up to two million TEU’s (twenty-foot  equivalent container units) per year, thus promoting international trade. In addition, Etihad Rail trains will carry up to 30 million tons of construction material annually to distribution centres in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, cutting the overall cost of transport  and reducing on-road truck trips by more than 2,000 journeys per day.

This will contribute to the improvement of the UAE’s freight and transport sectors by enabling faster and more efficient distribution  of goods by linking the UAE’s principal centres of manufacturing, production and population to strategic ports, facilitating the advancement of economic and social development and achieving a quantitative boost to the freight traffic and logistics sector.

Etihad Rail has previously awarded contracts for the Design and Build of Package A to a joint venture between the China State Construction  Engineering Corporation and South Korea’s SK Engineering and Construction, and Packages B and C to a joint venture between the China Railway Construction Corporation and the Ghantoot Transport & General Contracting Company. This comes as part of the company’s  mandate to establish a 1,200 km national railway network, which will also form an integral part of the proposed GCC Railway.

Etihad Rail was established in June 2009 under Federal Law No. 2, with the mandate to manage the development, construction, and operation  of the UAE’s national freight and passenger railway network. The railway network will link the principal centres of population and industry of the UAE, and will form a vital part of the planned railway network across the GCC.

Etihad Rail has successfully completed Stage One of the network. Stage One is fully operational and was delivered on schedule and within  budget. The route spans 264 km, transporting granulated sulphur from sources at Shah and Habshan to the export point at Ruwais. Stage Two links the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia from Fujairah Port to Ghuweifat through Mussafah, Khalifa Port and Jebel  Ali Port. Built to international standards, Etihad Rail’s state-of-the-art network will span approximately 1,200 km, acting as a catalyst for economic growth and sustained social development.