By:Agbi

Hafeet Rail, formerly Oman and Etihad Rail Company, has secured funding of $1.5 billion from a consortium of regional and global banks for the 238 km railway network.

The $2.5 billion Omani-Emirati railway network project is the first link in a unified regional transport and logistics chain and will link five major ports and various industrial and free zones across the two Gulf neighbours, the UAE state-run Wam news agency said.

The funds will be drawn in both conventional and Islamic tranches in UAE dirhams and Omani rials. The exact split of the loan was not given.

The UAE bank consortium included Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Commercial Bank of Dubai, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Ajman Bank.

Banks from Oman were Ahli Bank, Bank Dhofar, Bank Muscat, National Bank of Oman, Oman Arab Bank, Ahli Islamic Bank, Bank Muscat’s Meethaq Islamic Banking unit, Bank Nizwa and Alizz Islamic Bank.

Regional and global banks included Jordan’s Arab Bank, National Bank of Kuwait and the UK’s Standard Chartered Bank.

Hafeet Rail, a joint venture between the UAE’s Etihad Rail, Mubadala Investment Company and Oman’s Asyad Group, has cut the overall cost from $3 billion to $2.5 billion.