The planned railway projects in North Africa and Middle East countries are worth about 190 billion dollars, but so far, only 18 billion dollar public investment can be realized.
Speaking at a conference on the railroad held in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the experts said the region is one of the fastest growing markets in the world railway sector and as a result of rapid urbanization, the Gulf countries are turning to alternative transport models.
As an example Network Rail will be completed in the Gulf 2017 and will connect the six Gulf countries to Europe via Turkey in both advanced stage together. With this network, freight and passenger transport in the region will be both more economical and environmentally friendly.
Only 10 percent of the investments planned to be made according to the sources were realized. The Dubai Metro, which was established in the commercial center of the UAE, cost 10 billion dollars, the railway project in Saudi Arabia cost 9 billion dollars and the project in Egypt cost 3 billion dollars. When 3 billion-dollar projects in other countries are added, 3 billion-dollar rail investment has been made so far.
Experts in the first phase of the railway projects can not be done without state support, but in the future these networks can be customized, he said. It is emphasized that railway networks will make a serious contribution to the economy of the countries in the long term.
Source : http://www.haberaj.com
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