Kuwait plans to establish a new rail company for GCC rail project

Kuwait making more moves on GCC rail project: Kuwait’s Public Authority for Roads and Transportation is looking for a consultant to help it establish the Kuwait Railway Company (KRC), which will oversee the implementation and maintenance of the Kuwaiti part of the GCC rail project, Arab Times reports, citing a government report it has seen. The Kuwaiti portion of the project would extend over 265 km and is planned over two phases, with the first extending between the Kuwaiti cities of Al Nuwaiseeb and Al Shadadiya and connecting to Saudi, AlSeyassah reported.

REMEMBER- Kuwait received bids back in November for the study, design, and preparation of the first phase of its portion of the GCC railway.

What’s next? The country is currently reviewing submissions for the first phase design tender and plans to issue a tender for consulting services to support the establishment of KRC. The government will also explore a public-private partnership for the company, Arab Times reported.

What we know: The project will extend over 2.1k km and is set to wrap by 2030, AGBI reported back in 2023. Initially approved in 2009 with intentions to finish construction by 2021, the project’s timeline was held back several times in the last decade, but the GCC announced last November it is finally moving ahead with on-ground “practical steps” and “advanced levels of implementation.” The project is projected to move cargo of up to 95 mn tons by 2045, according to a statement published last November.

The rationale: The project aims to bolster trade and economic cooperation between GCC countries and cut the cost of transporting goods by reducing the number of vehicles used for freight and passenger transport, the outlet added. Kuwait also hopes the project will support its strategic push to make Kuwait more attractive for private investments.