21 consultations companies qualified to prepare tender of railway projects

SANA'A, March 13 (Saba)- Some 21 consultations companies out of
37 companies were qualified to prepare
document of tender for railway project in the country, almotamar.net
reported on Saturday.
The ministry of transport said that the 21 companies are from United
States, Canada, France, Japan, Lebanon, India, China, Spain, South
Korea, Italy, Swiss, German, Turkey
and Australia.
According to UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
study, the cost of the project is $ 3.5 billion.
In his previous statement, the Minister of Transport Khaled al-Wazir
highlighted efforts exerted by the ESCWA in preparing the study, saying
that such project would be turning
point in the development process in the country. The minister said that the project would help establish investment projects along the track
lines, in addition to connecting
the resource with the international routes.
It will connect the ports with the densely populated areas and the
agricultural and fishery production areas with the exporting ports and
consumption markets, he added.
Al-Wazir pointed out that the line would provide important economic
gains to Yemen, and will have its positive impacts on economic
activities, such as the mining, fishery,
agriculture, passengers and goods transportation and others, It also
provides local employment opportunities, the minister ensured.
Last December of 2009, the ministry of Transport announced that it had
received offers from 36 world consultative firms competing for preparing
tenders and contracts for
the project that will link Yemen's 22 provinces and Yemen with the
Arabian Gulf.
The railroads will operate with the BOT system and an international
tender for it would be made public for international private companies
in the second half of 2010.
AH