ABU DHABI: The Ministry of Finance and the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance have signed an agreement to fund the second stage of the national railway, Etihad Rail. It will extend 605 kilometres from Ghuweifat, on the border with Saudi Arabia, to Fujairah, on the east coast.

In a press statement on Tuesday, Etihad Rail said the development would increase the volume of transported goods from seven million tonnes per year to more than 50 million tonnes. It did not give a figure for the financing.

Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport and Etihad Rail’s board of directors, attended the signing ceremony.

Obaid bin Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, and Riyad Abdul Rahman Al Mubarak, head of the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance and Etihad Rail, signed the agreement.

This came on the sidelines of the UAE Government Annual Meetings, co-chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Sheikh Theyab said this national project marks a quantum leap for the transport sector of the UAE. Besides connecting the emirates, it will link industrial areas, boost economic diversity and support development across the country.

“The network will support the future growth with a sustainable, safe, modern and cost-effective transport system, as well as contribute to reducing the number of vehicles on the roads, which will yield tangible benefits from both economic and environmental perspectives,” he said.

Etihad Rail has made major strides in 2018, including the completion of the preliminary designs for the rail network’s second stage. Tenders for civil construction works will be launched by the end of this month.

In 2015, the first stage of the project, which extends 264km, was delivered, linking the Shah and Habshan gas fields in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi to the port of Ruwais on the Arabian Gulf. With a capacity of transferring 22,000 tonnes of sulfur granules daily, the railway was able to transport 20 million tonnes in total.

Etihad Rail is now in advanced stages of commercial and technical negotiations with an extended range of potential partners.