The UAE railway operator Etihad Rail has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with international supply chain management firm Ceva Logistics. Ceva Logistics will be provided with a cost effective and dependable mode of transport to enhance its services in the UAE.

Eitihad Rail CEO Faris Saif Al Mazrouei said of the deal, “This agreement is the first step towards the establishment of a long and strategic partnership between our two companies.’ He continued, “We look forward to working closely with CEVA Logistics and play our role in the greater diversification of the UAE economy.”

Ceva Logistics Balkans, Africa, Middle East and Africa EVP Jerome Lorrain said: “Etihad Rail will provide us with a much more reliable and environment friendly alternative to traditional modes of transport.”

The UAE Etihad Rail network is currently under construction to carry sulphur and other non oil products across the country. Once fully operational it will span 1200km across the Emirates, and will form a link in the regional Gulf Cooperation Council railway network that is hoped to one day link the Kuwait – Iraqi border with the Omani border with Yemen. There have been management reshuffles and delays in both networks’ construction, even as Etihad Rail has signed MoUs with other major companies to move bulk and container freight around the country.

In October, Etihad Rail signed an MoU with Transworld Logistics, designed to transport high volume goods across the country and to the sea ports. If regional disputes such as the war in Yemen don’t hamper progress, this network could eventually be an important one as a link between Saudi Arabia and Oman. That major logistics and supply chain companies are showing an interest suggests that businesses in the region believe that this will happen, if not by 2020 when the GCC recently announced the entire network would be completed.