Turkish-based construction firm Kalyon Insaat announced this month that it has begun construction on a 97-km (60-mile) section of the Abu Dhabi-Dubai High-Speed Rail Project’s first phase. The project is part of an overall plan by the United Arab Emirate’s state-owned Etihad Rail Mobility to expand a passenger service covering 900 km across the country, at an estimated cost of $13 billion.
Etihad Rail Mobility last February awarded two contracts covering a 150-km (93-mile) high-speed rail line between the two cities that is estimated to cost $8 billion. The line is expected to open in 2030-31 with trains capable to reaching 320 kph (198 mph). Travel time will be reduced from the current 90 minutes to 30.
The design and build contract for civil works and stations for the Abu Dhabi section was awarded to Abu Dhabi’s National Projects Construction as lead contractor. Its consortium partners include Kalyon Insaat, Trojan Tunnelling, and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). Dallas-based Jacobs Solutions is serving as designer.
The contract for the project’s Dubai segment went to India-based Larsen & Toubro as lead contractor, with China Harbour Engineering Company, Wade Adams, with Egis of France and Singapore-based Surbana Jurong as partners. Engineering consultants are Spanish-based firms Sener and Ineco.
The high-speed rail project is the first of its kind in the UAE and is one of the largest underway in the Persian Gulf, where ongoing hostilities between the United States and Iran have led to delays and cancellations for many construction projects in the region.
Tackling the First Phase
Kalyon’s scope of work includes civil works, tunnel engineering, rail station structural work, engineering adaptations for desert conditions and integration with Etihad’s design consultants, which include Jacobs, Sener and Ineco.
The firm’s contract covers construction of three sections of rail line: 23.5 km (14.6 miles) between Al Zahiyah to Yas Island, 64.2 km (39.9 miles) between Yas Island and the Abu Dhabi/Dubai border, and a 9.2-km (5.7-mile) branch line to Abu Dhabi Airport. Kalyon will also participate in the construction of 11.2-km (7-mile) dual-bore tunnels with a twin-tube configuration and the construction of four stations: Al Zahiyah (underground), Saadiyat Island (elevated), Yas Island (at grade), and an underground station at Abu Dhabi Airport.
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Kalyon Inşaat Chairman Murathan Kalyoncu told Turkey’s Daily Sabah that the high-speed rail project reflects the company’s engineering capabilities and growing international presence.
“We will bring the engineering expertise and experience gained through large-scale infrastructure projects in Turkey and around the world to the UAE’s first high-speed railway, while continuing to represent our country successfully in international markets,” Kalyoncu told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, Ethihad Rail started its planned regular passenger service on its existing conventional railway route connecting Abu Dhabi with the Indian Ocean emirate of Jurairah on June 30, according to media reports.
Source: www.enr.com
