Secretary-General: UAE fulfilling its duties for GCC Railway Project

Secretary-General of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Al Budaiwi, affirmed the UAE has fulfilled all its commitments related to the GCC Railway project.

The UAE has reportedly completed plans for the railway route’s meeting point with Saudi Arabia. 

He praised the UAE's significant role in launching leading national projects within the country and its important contribution to the Gulf Railway project.

Construction of the railway has not yet started, although Al Budaiwi noted that this strategic GCC project is expected to begin operations in 2030 according to the scheduled plans.

Each of the six GCC member states is responsible for implementing the portion of the project that lies within its territory, and will construct its own railway lines and branches, stations and freight terminals.

"A tender for the development of the project's operational plan has been initiated, and the approval of the consultant for this plan is currently underway. Additionally, preparations are in place to commence a tender for an asset management system for the project, along with the ratification of the unified operational document (Rule Book)," the Secretary-General said. 

“It aims to transport six million passengers at the start of operations, with that number expected to rise to eight million by 2045. The anticipated volume of goods to be transported upon the project's launch is 201 million tonnes of commercial goods, increasing to 271 million tonnes by 2045,” he added.