Jeddah: The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region has allocated more than $250bn worth of investments in various rail projects in the next three years.
The region has one of the lowest density rail networks in the world, with just under 34,000km of track over a landmass of 15 million square km. The boom in the construction of railway infrastructure is expected to double the track network to 67,000km and create huge opportunities for local and international businesses - from consultancy and design services to track, rolling stock and communication systems, the Saudi Gazette reported yesterday.
This year, there are currently $156bn worth of rail projects planned or under way in the region, according to projects tracker Meed Projects. Nearly 29 percent of these are currently being built and 12.5 percent are currently being tendered.
Iran has the most projects planned or under way with $34bn of schemes, closely followed by Saudi Arabia with $31bn. Other markets with more than $10bn of projects are Iraq with $13bn, Kuwait with $14bn, Qatar $13bn, and the UAE with $14bn.
QNA
