By: Zawya

Construction of the 238-kilometre Hafeet Rail network linking Oman’s Sohar Port with Abu Dhabi is edging close to the finish line, Etihad Rail’s chief executive said on Tuesday.

The cross-border project is being developed by Hafeet Rail, a joint venture between the UAE's Etihad Rail, Mubadala and Oman’s Asyad Group.

Speaking during a panel discussion at Global Rail in Abu Dhabi, Shadi Malak said construction work on the projects is 'almost close to the finish line with 50-70 percent completed.'

Malak also disclosed during the discussion that Etihad Rail expects to launch within two weeks its first train service connecting DP World in Dubai with Abu Dhabi and Fujairah, expanding the UAE’s domestic freight network.

In May 2025, Zawya Projects had reported that construction is progressing with groundwork and railbed preparation and structural works on major bridges and tunnels underway in both countries.

In April 2024, Hafeet Rail had awarded three civil works packages with a combined value of 5.5 billon UAE dirhams ($1.5 billion) to a consortium of Abu Dhabi-based National Projects Construction (NPC), National Infrastructure Construction Company (NICC), Tristar Engineering & Construction and Oman’s Galfar Engineering & Contracting.