Abu Dhabi: The Gulf Cooperation Council railway project could be operational by 2017 if GCC members establish a unified railroad authority and embark on design detail by the end of this year, a senior project official said on Tuesday.

David Lupton, project manager of the GCC railway feasibility study, said the council's member states are in agreement on principles but concrete steps must be taken for the project to advance on schedule.

"I think there's a lot of goodwill between the states," Lupton said on the sidelines of MEED Middle East Rail Projects 2009.

"But this is a very delicate project politically. [GCC states] realise the benefits of working together, but they obviously want to maintain control over the project within their own borders."

The network's design detail is expected to take 18 to 24 months, said Lupton.

So far, the UAE has moved the farthest in implementing its portion of the project with the creation of Union Railways Company (URC), a government-run entity charged with overseeing the construction of a 1,400km rail network.

Of that length, about 700km will represent the UAE's contribution to the GCC railways project connecting Kuwait City to Muscat.

On Monday, URC chairman Hussain Al Nowais said the company planned to begin awarding construction contracts next year.

Trains could be running as early as 2013 to 2014, he said, if the URC reaches an agreement to carry sulphur from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's oil processing facility to be built between Shah and Habshan to Al Rowais on the Arabian Gulf for export.

In Oman, the government last week said it planned to offer the construction contract for the first phase of its share of the GCC rail project in December — a 230km stretch starting at the border with the UAE.

Project cost

The GCC project is expected to cost between $20 billion (Dh73.4 billion) and $25 billion, GCC Assistant Secretary General Mohammad Al Mazroui said earlier this month.

Earlier estimates had put the project's cost at $14 billion (Dh51 billion). Mazroui said additional demands by member states necessitated the increase.

The UAE's network will cost $8.2 billion, a portion of which will count toward the GCC project.