Oman set to focus on domestic rail

 Oman may focus on building a domestic rail network rather than connecting its railways to a regional system, because of uncertainty over when the regional project will go ahead, transport minister Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Futaisi said on Sunday.

Al Futaisi told reporters on Sunday that the suspension of Etihad Rail's plan made it difficult for Oman to award a contract for its own track, even though Muscat was ahead of other countries in designing its part of the network.

As a result, he added, Oman might change its focus from using its railways to distribute imports of goods around the region via the GCC network, to facilitating Oman's seaborne exports of items such as raw materials.