Kuwait’s Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) has awarded the contract for conducting a study and detailed design for the first phase of the 111-km Kuwait-Saudi railway project to Turkish engineering and consulting company Proyapi, reported Kuwait News Agency (Kuna).

The project, part of the broader GCC railway network, will connect Kuwait to Saudi Arabia and pass through the rest of the Gulf countries. Once completed, the Gulf railway network will span 2,177 km, linking Kuwait City in the north to Oman in the south.

The Kuwait part of the railway network – a single track which will run between the cities of Al Nuwaiseeb and Al Shadadiya and connect to the Saudi border – will be used by freight and passenger trains. The passenger station will be located in the Shadadiya area. The Kuwait-Saudi project is expected to be completed by 2030.

According to senior sources, CAPT had evaluated bids for the tender for the study, design, and preparation for the first phase of its portion of the GCC railway back in November, which saw Turkish firm Proyapi offering the lowest bid of KD2.47 million ($8 million).

According to Kuna, the scope of work for Proyapi includes providing detailed design services and preparing the railway tender documents. This initial phase is set to last for 12 months, after which the tender for the construction phase will be launched.