Dubai : The six Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are planning to invest nearly $109 billion (Dh400 billion) on rail projects and almost $11 billion on road expansion projects during the next nine years as a way to combat traffic congestion, a Kuwaiti report said.
The report by the Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz), an investment banking institution, added highway projects worth nearly $3.8 billion had been cancelled due to the recession out of $14.5 billion worth of projects.
"I don't think it looks too big to be true," M.R. Raghu, co-author of the report and head of research at Markaz said.
Congestion
In the region, he explained in an interview with Gulf News, there is an increasing demand for transport infrastructure, amid increasing congestion on roads and the growing population.
Traffic jams and density and road fatalities in the Gulf nations are among the highest in the world.
For example, the number of vehicles per kilometre on the roads in the UAE is nearly 34, one of the highest in the world, while in the US it is nearly 31, Raghu said.
"Intra-city projects like the Dubai Metro are the need of the hour," Raghu said.
The Dubai Metro, launched on September 9, is the region's first metro system.
The main reason behind the high traffic congestion in the region is the growing population — mainly expatriate.
The population structure is not expected to "drastically change" in the next nine years, according to financial and economic experts.
Earlier press reports estimated the Gulf Arab railway network alone will cost $20 billion to $25 billion.
The 1,940km railway will connect the six Gulf states, each of which would contribute a share of the start-up capital.
It was reported Yemen had asked for the railway to be extended over its border with Oman.
Meanwhile, among the GCC plans announced for implementation in the next few years, Bahrain said it would build a 184km network in three phases by 2030, at a cost of $8.12 billion.
There is also a Qatari project expected to cost $22.79 billion which includes freight and passenger trains and a metro, as well as a connection to Saudi Arabia via a 40-kilometre causeway to Bahrain. Work is expected to run till 2026 on the project.
Saudi Arabia confirmed its rail project, worth nearly $13.4 million linking the northern mineral belt with Riyadh, will be ready for freight traffic by 2010.
