Yemen Observer: http://www.yobserver.com
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Local News
Written By: Observer Staff
Article Date: May 13, 2008 - 2:50:49 AM
Yemen and the Gulf states have assigned a consultative company to study suggestions about the project of setting up railway to link Yemen with neighboring Gulf. The second meeting on the topic, co-chaired by undersecretary of Transportation Ministry Mohammed Motafei and Economic Affairs Director of Transport in the GCC Ibrahim Assabti, was held in Sana’a last Saturday.
This meeting was between a team from the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and concerned Yemeni officials in the Ministry of Transportation and other bodies has chosen the Coalition of Khatib and Elmi and Sestra and Canarel Companies to study the suggestions of GCC’s General Secretariat, ESCWA and World Bank about the project.
The coalition will analyze collected information through field visits by a joint team to determine the line of the railway. The meeting also assigned the Yemeni Ministry of Transportation to be a coordinator between all parties of this project to ease the task of gathering necessary information. The meeting discussed the economic benefit of the project according to the line suggested by ESCWA as well as technical requirements of the project. It is considered Yemen’s suggestion that the railway links Yemen to Gulf states through Aden’s coastline.
The government has started discussing the project of railways and highways in Yemen in 2005 so as to attract the foreign investments, particularly from the Gulf, and help decrease the high rate of unemployment. Official media previously reported that a number of international construction companies competed amongst one another to acquire licenses to execute the railway and highway project in Yemen.