Etihad Rail secures Dh4.7b financing

Abu Dhabi: Etihad Rail on Tuesday secured a five-year loan of Dh4.7 billion ($1.28 billion) from a consortium of banks for Phase I of its tri-phased rail project which would cost Dh40.3 billion ($11 billion), the company said in a statement.

“The five-year loan will be financed on a club deal basis by National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC (NBAD), Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) and HSBC Bank Middle East Limited (HSBC), with NBAD acting as both the facility and security agent of the loan,” said Etihad Rail.

“The securing of this loan not only represents the beginning of a new era for the UAE in trade and travel through a transportation network that will connect all seven emirates with our GCC partners,” said Nasser Al Suwaidi, Etihad Rail Chairman.

Nasser Saif Al Mansoori, CEO of Etihad Rail, said that Etihad Rail is on schedule to seeing the first train run from Habshan to Ruwais by the end of this year. 

Significant progress

“This loan is yet another indicator of the significant progress being made at Etihad Rail. With the recent arrival of our wagons, the considerable headway being made in construction on Stage One,” said Al Mansoori.

The loan is to finance Phase I which extends 264 kilometres from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais.

Three stages

Etihad Railway includes three stages with the first stage underway. Phase I comprising 264 kilometres, will link the Western Region (Gharbia) cities of Habshan and Ruwais by 2013 and connect Shah and Habshan by 2014.

The line will run from Ruwais to Habshan to transport 10,000 tonnes of sulphur a day. The track will later be extended to Shah when the line will transport 20,000 tonnes per day

Last December, Etihad Rail received some wagons to be used in Phase I of the Etihad Rail project.

Mark Yassin, NBAD Senior General Manager of Global Banking, said: “Building a rail network in the UAE is one of the most important and crucial elements in the goal to establish Abu Dhabi and the UAE as the enabler and epicentre of commerce.”

Yassin stressed that the NBAD is committed to supporting ambitious projects like Etihad Rail which will ultimately link the nation’s seven emirates to other GCC countries and will become the greatest facilitator of increased trade.

“Masaru Kuroda, Regional Head for the Middle East of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ commented: “We are proud to be a part of such an important project for the UAE.”

Ala’a Eraiqat, ADCB’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “The development of a national railway network is very critical and strategic for both Abu Dhabi and for the UAE. ADCB’s contribution to this transformational project demonstrates our strong commitment to the economic diversification of our nation and the development of our core infrastructure.”

Mohammad Al Tuwaijri, Regional Head of Global Banking and Markets at HSBC Middle East, added: “Investing in infrastructure is core to securing the foundations of the region’s long-term economic success. We are pleased to offer our support to this impressive project, which will help promote growth across the UAE.”