From jduester at oman.org Tue Oct 13 09:04:14 2009 From: jduester at oman.org (Joachim Duester) Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:04:14 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Oman-L] Rail network to connect UAE with Sohar via al-Buraimi by 2013/2014 Message-ID: <539203.38266.qm@web37905.mail.mud.yahoo.com> First train on UAE rail network in 2014 Source: Khaleej Times, 13 October, 2009 The UAE's national rail will have its first train service by the end of 2013 or early 2014, Chairman of the Union Railway Company Hussain Al Nowais announced here on Monday. The 1,100 km-long rail network, to be constructed at an estimated cost of Dh30 billion, will also be part of the wider GCC railway project and will connect the UAE with neighbouring Saudi Arabia and Oman, apart from creating a link between the emirates. It will connect the UAE to Sohar in Oman through Al Ain. The railway will also connect the UAE with Saudi Arabia through the Ghuweifat border and in turn to the greater GCC and MENA regions. Union Railway will thus offer two routes that provide alternative access to the Indian Ocean, Al Nowais said in his keynote address at MEED?s Middle East Rail Projects Conference. The network will be for diesel trains carrying both the cargo and passengers, though the focus will be on freight. Speed of the freight movement on the track will be 80-120 kilometres per hour while the passenger trains will be running at a speed of 160-200 kilometres per hour. According to estimates, three million containers will be needing transport across the UAE by 2015, Al Nowais said. The proposed railway is expected to transport 30 million tons of bulk and break bulk by 2015, including rocks, aluminum, cement, iron ore, steel and other products. ?We are also expecting substantial demand for passenger traffic as well on the route,?? he said. Talks with ADNOC The Chairman announced that Union Railway is in advanced stages of discussion and coordination with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or Adnoc, to explore transporting over seven million tons of granulated sulphur per annum from the Shah and Habshan oil and gas fields into Ruwais, through the railway system . ?This important strategic initiative will fulfill several strategic objectives. Firstly, it will support Adnoc?s ongoing investment program in the Shah and Habshan oil and gas fields. It will also contribute to the development of the oil, gas and petrochemical industries in the country. Finally, it will help to accelerate the development of the Western Region, in line with Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 . This section of the railway will be fast-tracked to meet Adnoc?s schedule and requirements,?? he said. According to him, there will be huge demand for granulated sulphur from the fast growing countries like China and India. Contracts in 2010 He also disclosed that the contracts for the railway network will be awarded in 2010. Alignment of the railway line in Abu Dhabi has already been completed and that of Dubai and the Northern Emirates are progressing on track. The Company has appointed a traffic study consultant to review traffic flows in the UAE, and update and validate previous studies. Currently the company is carrying out environmental, topographical, geotechnical and hydrological studies. Efforts are on to hire an international consultancy firm to help to lay out the company?s five-year strategy and implementation plan. ?The firm will also be asked to develop our operating and business model and benchmark that against other world-class rail organisations.?? The company was exploring the option of forming separate entities for the railway infrastructure and operation of trains. Similarly the company was also looking at different options to fund the project like the project finance, BoT, and export credit, he disclosed. From jduester at oman.org Sat Oct 17 09:52:57 2009 From: jduester at oman.org (Joachim Duester) Date: Sat, 17 Oct 2009 02:52:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Oman-L] Oman's GDP falls over 25% in first half of 2009 Message-ID: <449622.90472.qm@web37905.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Oman's GDP falls over 25% to 8.19b rials in 2009 H1 Source: Oman Tribune, 17 October 2009 The Ministry of National Economy said on Friday that the Sultanate?s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first six months of 2009 fell by 25.2 per cent to 8.19 billion rials, compared to 10.95 billion rials in the same period in 2008. The report pointed that the fall in oil activities as a main reason to the plunge in GDP. The Sultanate?s crude oil and natural gas trade declined by 45 per cent to 2888.3 million rials in the first half of 2009, against 5247.9 million rials in the same period in 2008. The crude GDP fell by 47.4 per cent to 2563.6 million rials in first six months of 2009, compared to 4874.7 million rials in the same period in 2008. The statistics also said that the gas GDP fell by 13 per cent to 324.7 million rials in the first six months of 2009, compared to 373.1 million rials during the same period in 2008. The non-oil activities also declined in June pulling the Sultanate?s total GDP further down. The non-oil activities fell by 5.9 per cent to 5503.8 million rials in the first half of 2009, compared to 5846.5 million rials in 2008. The industrial activities in Oman declined by 18.3 per cent to 1467.6 million rials against 1796.8 million rials in 2008. A weak production report from the Sultanate?s agricultural production also added to the GDP fall. Agriculture output fell by 3.3 per cent to 115.9 million rials during the first six month in 2009, compared to the 116.9 million rials in the same period in 2008. The service sector also reported a fall of 0.3 per cent to 3920.3 million rials the first half of 2009, compared to 3932.7 million rials in the same period in 2008. From beegamfeby at gmail.com Tue Oct 20 06:22:27 2009 From: beegamfeby at gmail.com (beegam feby) Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:52:27 +0530 Subject: [Oman-L] GiS Jbs In Oman Message-ID: Hi My name is Beegam Feby. I am looking for companies in Oman who need GIS people. I am 27years of age and possess an MSc Applied Geology and Diploma in Geoinformatics. I have Two Year Experience in Geology and GIS fields. Beegam Feby From hielkewijk at planet.nl Tue Oct 20 15:42:23 2009 From: hielkewijk at planet.nl (van der Wijk) Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:42:23 +0200 Subject: [Oman-L] Great Exhibition on Oma in Amsterdam Nieuwe Kerk Message-ID: L.S. A very beautiful exhibition on Oman has started in Amsterdam in the Nieuwe Kerk (located right in the centre of Amsterdam). For more information see: http://www.nieuwekerk.nl/en/index.htm Regards, Hielke van der Wijk -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://oman.org/pipermail/oman-l/attachments/20091020/e90127d0/attachment.html From jduester at oman.org Thu Oct 22 09:14:54 2009 From: jduester at oman.org (Joachim Duester) Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:14:54 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Oman-L] Oman's economy to grow 2.5 percent in 2009 Message-ID: <130764.65922.qm@web37903.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Oman's economy to grow 2.5 percent in 2009 Source: Reuters, 22 October 2009 Oman's economy will grow by 2.5 percent in 2009 on better performance of various sectors, the country's economy ministry website quoted a senior official as saying on Wednesday. The global economic crisis slashed income for Gulf Arab oil producing nations, sending the key regional economies, such as Saudi Arabia and UAE, into downturn this year. Oman was less hit because as a non-OPEC member it did not have to join oil output cuts required by the organization. The undersecretary of the ministry of national economy said he expected the economy to exceed the planned growth of 1 percent this year on better performance of various sectors but did not give details. The International Monetary Fund said earlier this month it expected Oman?s real gross domestic product (GDP) to grow 4.1 percent this year after a 7.8 percent expansion in 2008. GDP growth should slow further to 3.8 percent next year, it said. Oman?s inflation rose for the first time this year to 1.89 percent in August due to a sharp rise in food prices and property rent, the Ministry of National Economy data showed earlier.