Russia eyes Kenya

[John Ashworth]

RUSSIA EYES KENYA

Railways Africa On June 19, 2012 In Middle East

Rossiiskie Zheleznie Dorogi (RZhD – the Russian State Railway) plans to participate in rail projects worth nearly $US3 billion in the Middle East and Africa. The projects will be implemented by Russian Railways’ foreign projects subsidiary of Zarubezhstroitekhnologia (ZST). According to ZST head Yuri Nikolsson, the company has great prospects in the Persian Gulf where the countries of the region plan infrastructure construction worth about a trillion dollars. The Arab countries are going to unite the entire region with a railway chain, Nikolsson told Prime news agency.

ZST intends to bid for a $US2 billion railway construction project near the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi. The city government envisages 700km of railway to carry mainly freight, at 150-160km/h. Results of the tender will be known in August or September 2012. If ZST wins the tender, 150-200 Russian engineers will work on the project. ZST also plans to bid for a $3-4 billion light metro project in Kuwait, as well as for railway projects in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

In Iran, ZST expects to secure a $250 million contract to electrify 190km of line, following the current electrification of the Tabriz-Azarshahr railway which is almost complete, Nikolsson said.