Passengers will be able to travel by train across the Gulf region without stopping at borders by late 2030.
The highly anticipated rail service across the entire Gulf region is on track to open by December 2030, senior officials told The National at the Global Rail conference, taking place this week in Abu Dhabi. The project spans almost 2,120km through the six Gulf countries, connecting Kuwait and Oman.
The rail route will pass through Saudi Arabia and continue to Bahrain. The Saudi line will be linked to Doha, and then continue through the UAE's Etihad Rail network and across the country to eventually reach the Omani capital Muscat.
“We are expecting all of the member states to start operations by December 2030. The GCC Railway Authority is following up with all member states to make sure that we are following the deadline set by the ministerial council,” said Nasser AlQahtani, interoperability director at the GCC Railways Authority. “The progress here is advancing, either in the design phase or the construction phase, or some of the part of the project is under operation.”
Express services
Mr AlQahtani said the border crossings would be seamless and “follow the best practices in the world”.
This means there will be no stops at borders with immigration checks taking place before boarding. “Of course, border stopping is not on the map. Railway everywhere in the world works on origin-destination. GCC member states and stakeholders are co-operating for success and support in this approach,” he said.
This would mean that no border stops can be expected, and immigration will be cleared before boarding the train.
Construction on the line to connect the UAE and Oman – a project known as Hafeet Rail – has begun. This is scheduled to open in the next three years.
Like taking a plane
“From a passenger point of view, we are still working out the details, but we expect it to be similar to getting on a plane. So you show your passport at one end and again at the other,” said John Steventon, business development and sales director at Hafeet Rail.
Hafeet Rail has made significant progress in construction, as chief executive Ahmed Al Musawa Al Hashemi shared in an update at the Global Rail conference.
“We have initiated all project packages, from detailed design to civil works, on-ground earthworks, facilities work initiation, rolling stock manufacturing, and rail delivery to the site,” he said.
“In numbers, that translates to five million cubic metres of excavation completed in just one year, 3.3 million cubic metres of fill and embankment placed, 21 bridges under construction, two tunnels initiated, 2,500 machines mobilised on the ground, and more than two million safe man-hours achieved.”
Hafeet Rail's main focus is on enhancing freight operations between the two countries. One train, with a 15,000 tonne capacity, is the equivalent of taking 130 full lorries off the road. While the current engines are diesel, the goal is to be more sustainable in the future.
“All of the fleet is future-scoped to move to electric. So should the infrastructure for electric be there in the future, then we can convert the existing kit,” Mr Steventon said.
Mr AlQahtani spoke of the project's goals, saying they are “to strengthen the bonds between the people of the GCC, connecting the different communities since they are very similar and close to each other”.
“Of course it will contribute to economic and trade [development] between the GCC and help diversify the transportation mode between the GCC and beyond because it is not about connecting the GCC. The long-run plan is to connect the GCC with the world.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
