Muscat: A high speed railway system in Oman could be completed and ready for use as early as 2017 if everything goes according to plan.

Muneer Bin Baqir Al Mousawi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Town Planning (SCTP), has revealed that initially the trains will run at 200 kph, but they will later be increased to a speed of 400 kph.

"Construction work on the project would begin in 2013, with testing and commissioning slated around the 2017 to 2018 timeframe," Al Mousawi said during a presentation at the Omani-Spanish Business Forum, which concluded at the Al Bustan Palace Hotel on Wednesday.

The Omani government official pointed out that the rail network will connect a number of important locations around the country and, at the same time, provide safe, efficient and cost effective transportation, which will promote commerce and tourism.

"To this end, an initial rail corridor is envisioned from the UAE border at Khatmat Malaha and Al Ain (Buraimi) to Muscat and further to Duqm and Salalah," the SCTP Secretary-General said.

According to Al Mousawi, the project is part of the proposed inter-GCC railway network that will run from Kuwait to Muscat, and onward to Salalah and possibly to Yemen.

In the first phase, a 240-kilometre section will be developed from Oman's newly developed industrial hub of Sohar to Muscat, followed by a 486-kilometre coastal rail network from Muscat to Duqm. And in a later phase, an extension from Duqm to Salalah (696-kilometres), and possibly from Duqm to Al Mazyounah Free Trade Zone, which is close to Oman's border with Yemen, will be carried out.

He explained how railway stations are planned at key locations along the route, such as Sohar, Buraimi, Muscat and Duqm. However, with more stations planned for the future.

Al Mousawi added that freight trains, with axle loads of up to 32.4 tonnes, will operate at speeds ranging from 80 to 120 kph.

He made reference too to the government's environmental concerns for Oman, adding that it had opted for electricity for rail locomotion, as opposed to diesel-powered locomotion as in some of the Gulf states.

Rail-based freight is likely to provide 11 million tonnes per annum in exports by around 2018, he said, with imports estimated at 2.5 million tonnes per year.

He said the Supreme Committee, along with the Tender Board, were currently evaluating prequalification offers from consultants, seeking to bid for detailed design and project management consultancy contracts.

The selection of consultants for both contracts will be made by the first quarter of 2011. The detailed design phase is expected to take between 18 months to two years to complete, following which tenders for infrastructure construction will be floated.

"We hope to complete work on the project by 2017," said Al Mousawi.