Transport

UAE's Etihad sees FY sales up on new planes, routes

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said it expected revenues to grow 24 percent to $3.1 billion this year as it takes deliveries of 11 aircraft and boosts passenger numbers by adding at least six new routes. "We are taking a bullish approach in 2009 despite tough market conditions," Etihad Chief Executive James Hogan said. There are risks, there's a global recession and we are seeing weakening currencies, softening demand worldwide, volatile oil prices. But 2009 and 2010 are also years for Gulf airlines to continue to grow."

Oman Air says to fly to 40 destinations by end-09

State carrier Oman Air will fly to 40 destinations by the end of 2009 after taking delivery of nine new Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Peter Hill, CEO, said the airline had already taken delivery of one Boeing 737-800 and would take delivery of four B737-800s and four Airbus A330-300s in the coming months, all as part of previously announced deals. "Our current fleet is 15, with the new deliveries it will go up to 23 by the end of 2009. With new aircraft we plan to fly to new destinations in Europe and Asia," he said in an interview.

China Rail Cons wins part of $1.8 bn Saudi deal

Saudi Arabia has awarded a 6.79 billion riyal ($1.8 billion) infrastructure contract to a consortium including a unit of China Railway Construction Corp for a railway to the kingdom's holy sites. The contract, which covers ground and civil engineering works, is the first of several to be awarded for the 450 kilometre (279.6 mile) high-speed rail linking the Red Sea port city of Jeddah to Mecca and Medina -- Islam's two holiest sites. China Railway Construction subsidiary China Railway 18th Bureau Group and two Saudi firms, including Al Arrab Contracting Co, are part of the winning consortium, contractors said at a signing ceremony in Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Advantages of GCC rail network

GCC member countries will in all probability approve the final proposals for a $14 billion, 1,500km-long railway project that will run from Kuwait's border with Iraq, down the Gulf coast to the Omani port of Salalah on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Three consultants - French rail group Systra, Canada's Canarail and Lebanese consultant Khatib & Alarni - are finalising the draft proposals, which incorporate revisions addressing financial concerns raised by member states. GCC states have been independently developing their sections of the rail line but some aspects of the overall project have yet to be finalised. Under the proposed plan, each GCC state will pay for its own section of the rail network, which will leave Saudi Arabia and Oman paying a much higher proportion of the cost.

Oman Develops Sohar Port and Sez with India, Netherlands FDI

The Sohar International Development Company (SIDC) will develop and manage a special economic zone in the Sohar port, thanks to an agreement signed Saturday with Indian company SKIL Infrastructure Ltd. SIDC is a joint venture between the Oman Government and the Port of Rotterdam and is a sister company to Sohar Industrial Port Company, which has been managing the port of Sohar for more than six years.

Foreign firms bid for Baghdad Metro project

Companies from France, Germany and the U.S. have submitted bids to build the Baghdad Metro, according to a statement from Baghdad Municipality. The mayor of Baghdad, Sabir al-Isawi was quoted by Al-Bayyina Al-Jadeeda newspaper on Tuesday as saying: "Nine international companies have submitted their offers to execute the Baghdad Metro project. Three of them are well known, have experience and have already executed a number of metro projects internationally.”

Daimler gets order for 260 buses from Dubai

German car and commercial vehicle maker Daimler AG said its EvoBus division received an order for 260 Mercedes-Benz Citaro city buses from the Emirate of Dubai, but didn't release financial details. Stuttgart-based Daimler, which also makes Mercedez-Benz cars and Freightliner trucks, said production of the buses for Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority will commence in the current quarter, and that the deal also includes a multiyear service and maintenance agreement.

UAE to have a railway company

The Ministerial Council for Services passed a federal bill on formation of the Union Railway Company, a fully government-owned entity. The move falls within the government's policy to boost the domestic transport sector through building a modern railway network. The new company's main mission is to underpin national economy through facilitating transportation of passengers and goods, increasing inter-emirate trade exchange and easing traffic congestion. The federal railway network will constitute the building block in meeting requirements of linking the GCC and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

Airline industry to lose $4.7 billion in 2009-IATA

World airlines are set to lose $4.7 billion this year as a result of the global recession that has shrunk passenger and cargo demand, industry body IATA said. The International Air Transport Association had estimated in December the industry would lose $2.5 billion in 2009. "The state of the airline industry today is grim. Demand has deteriorated much more rapidly with the economic slowdown than could have been anticipated even a few months ago," Director-General Giovanni Bisignani said.