Etihad Rail looks for sleeper manufacturer

The Etihad Rail project moves a step forward today as the company puts out a tender for stage two work.

The prequalification tender is for the construction of concrete sleepers – the supports that the tracks sit on – and maintenance of the sleeper factory.

“We have completed the production of stage one sleeper manufacture. They are all ready,” said Nooh Al Hamadi, the communications senior manager at Etihad Rail. “Stage two will start very soon and we will need another set of production for the sleepers. We manufacture the sleepers here in the UAE and we need another company to carry out the production, which is what the tender is for. The stage two design-and-build contractor is still not awarded and not yet finalised. The decision will be very soon, today, tomorrow, maybe next week.”

The deadline for applications is March 27.

Stage two of the project had been announced to start in the second quarter of this year and appears to be on track.

The first stage of the project is a 266-kilometre route for carrying sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais. The second stage will run from the Saudi Arabian border to Dubai and Al Ain, and is to be part of a 1,200km regional network.

The wider network is to connect the six GCC countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. However, Oman and Kuwait have suggested they might miss the 2018 deadline for completion of the railway.

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