The 1.8km tunnel was bored through the Fujairah’s Hajar Mountain
Excavation work on the Middle East’s longest tunnel, being built as part of the Etihad Rail project, has been completed, UAE’s ‘The National’ reported.
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) has completed the excavation work on the 1.8-kilometre tunnel. It was tunnelled through difficult geological conditions with softer blasts, Rail Journal reported.
In December 2019, Etihad Rail had awarded a AED 4.6bn (US$ 1.25bn) tender for the civil works and construction of Package D of Stage Two of the UAE’s national railway.
The 145-kilometre Package D includes the construction of 15 tunnels through the Hajar Mountains. The tunnels have a total length of 16km, in addition to the construction of 35 bridges and 32 underpasses. This will connect Fujairah and Khorfakkan ports with a rail network at the Dubai-Sharjah border.
Etihad Rail had earlier awarded contracts for the design and build of Package A to a joint venture between the China State Construction Engineering Corporation and South Korea’s SK Engineering and Construction.
Packages B and C were awarded to a joint venture between the China Railway Construction Corporation and the Ghantoot Transport & General Contracting Company.
This came as part of the company’s mandate to establish a 1,200 km national railway network, which will also form an integral part of the proposed GCC Railway.
