Muscat: The Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology has said that the railway project linking Suhar and Abu Dhabi is expected to carry 12,000 passengers a day.
The first meeting of the board of directors of Oman Rail and Etihad Rail will be held this month.
Speaking to the media, he said that the train is expected to carry 12,000 passengers per day and 250,000 containers at the start of the line’s operation.
If completed, the project will be the first of its kind to link the two GCC countries.
He said that the railway project linking the Sultanate of Oman and the sisterly United Arab Emirates will connect the Sohar Port and the Free Zone, through the industrial and economic zones of the United Arab Emirates and boost the movement of transport and goods, thereby increasing the volume of trade exchange between the two countries.
He said that the project is key to industrial localisation as it will encourage transportation and passage of raw materials.
It may be noted that the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently discussed a number of long-term and short-term plans and projects related to the transport and logistics sector.
After his meeting with his Saudi counterpart Saleh bin Nasser al Jasser, Al Maawali said nearly half a million tonnes of goods and nearly 400,000 passengers have used the new direct road between the two countries, which was opened only last year.
“We expect this number to double and triple in the next five years easily because currently the movement on this road does have much transit or third-party traffic.”
He said that the long-term goals discussed between both sides include a feasibility study for a direct railway link and the short-term goals include agreements for the quick turnaround of goods via sea and land border crossings.
