Railway Sanaa – Ali Rabei The Yemeni Government has unveiled its allocation of $1.29 billion to create a new international railway, linking Yemen with Saudi Arabia and Oman, along the western and southern coasts. According to the Head of the General Authority in charge of regulating the affairs of road transport, engineer Saleh Abdullah Ahmad El-Wali, it will be “a revolution in the rapid transit field in the countries,” extending to 2,155km.
The Yemeni official explained, in line with what was said by local government sources on Wednesday, that there are three technical studies being carried out for the project. The first is being prepared by a British company, the second by the Gulf Cooperation Council, while the third is being done by the United Nations.
He also described how, not only would the railway – with work planned to start in six years time – ease pressure on the transportation across asphalt roads, but it would also create “more than 25,000 jobs.”
Delving further into the reasons behind the project, El-Wali pointed out how the country currently suffers from many transport related problems, most notably is the lack of the railways for internal transport of passengers and goods. Couple with the deterioration of asphalt roads and the rugged terrain, this has led to increasing costs and delays.