On track
March 28, 2010
Deutsche Bahn, Germany's state-run rail operator, has won a contract to plan a rail system in the United Arab Emirates. The announcement for the contract came on Sunday from the Deutsche Bahn headquarters in Berlin.
German transport minister Peter Ramsauer, head of the Deutsche Bahn Ruediger Grube and representatives of the industrial conglomerate Al Masaood Group signed a declaration of intent Sunday in Abu Dhabi.
In a statement, Ramsauer said Germany would do whatever it could to assist the United Arab Emirates in creating a modern rail infrastructure.
Billion euro potential
Negotiations are still underway to award Deutsche Bahn the contract for constructing the rail system in the United Arab Emirates as well. Should that become part of the deal, Ramsauer said the entire contract would be worth billions of euros "in double-digits."
No financial details were released for the planning portion of the contract.
Deutsche Bahn, which operates Germany's network of high-speed ICE trains, has obtained a number of contracts in the Middle East in recent years. Just four months ago, the company landed a 17 billion euro ($23 billion) contract for high-speed rail lines and underground transport systems in Qatar and Bahrain.
mz/apn/dpa/AFP
Editor: Sonia Phalnikar