Kuwait takes a step forward with its portion of the GCC railway project

Kuwait taps Turkey’s Proyapi for rail project: Kuwait’s Central Agency for Public Tender (CAPT) has awarded Turkish engineering and consulting firm Proyapi the design contract for the first phase of Kuwait’s portion of the GCC railway project, CAPT told KUNA last week. The project’s initial phase — which will involve study, design, and preparation — is set to take 12 months, after which construction will begin.

ICYMI- CAPT evaluated bids for a tender for the study, design, and preparation for the first phase of its portion of the GCC railway back in November, which saw Turkish firm Proyapi offering the lowest bid of KD 2.47 mn (c. USD 8 mn).

More on the project: The Kuwaiti part of the GCC railway — which will be used by freight and passenger trains — is a single-track line between the Kuwaiti cities of Al Nuwaiseeb and Al Shadadiya and connecting to the Saudi border.

Part of a bigger picture: The GCC rail project will extend over 2.1k km and is set to wrap by 2030. Initially approved in 2009 with plans 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.

REMEMBER- 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.