Jordan is in urgent need of 4.3 billion Jordanian dinars (about 6.1 billion U.S. dollars) to finance a railway project linking its major cities and economic centers with neighboring countries, local daily Jordan Times reported on Sunday.
Around 4 billion dollars are needed for infrastructure while another 2 billion dollars are needed for rail fleet, according to a study released by the Jordan's Transport Ministry.
The proposed railway project consists of two lines, the north-south line from the Syrian border to Aqaba passing through Mafraq, Zarqa, Amman and Maan, and the east-west line extending from the Iraqi to Saudi borders passing through Mafraq, Irbid and Azraq, said the study.
The speed of cargo trains is designed to reach 120 km per hour and that for passenger trains 160 km per hour, it added.
Scheduled to be finished by 2013, the railway might also be an alternative to a pipeline project between Jordan and Iraq that designed to transport Iraqi oil.
Jordan's Minister of Transport Alaa Batayneh said his ministry has started expropriating land for the railway track which stretches 1,080 km.
Jordan was among 13 Arab countries that approved a railway linkage agreement during meetings of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, which requested those countries to implement their internal railway network in a period of 10 to 15 years. (1 dollar= 0.708 dinar)
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article