Qatar aims to have most of a 17 billion euro ($22.79 billion) rail project with Deutsche Bahn built by 2022, officials said recently after signing one of the biggest-ever foreign deals for German industry. The whole project - which includes freight and passenger trains and a metro - is expected to be completed in 2026. But a major portion of the work will be completed by 2022, when Qatar hopes to host the FIFA World Cup, officials said. Qatar also aims to build a connection to neighboring Saudi Arabia via a 40-kilometer causeway, one of the world's longest, to Bahrain. The network will integrate Qatar's east coast rail link, a passenger and freight railway line, and connect oil and natural gas hub Ras Laffan in the north with the refinery town of Mesaieed in the south, via Doha, and a high-speed link between the new Doha international airport and the city's centre. The network will also connect to Bahrain via the Qatar-Bahrain causeway, a freight rail link based on the Gulf Arab rail network and Doha Expressway studies, a comprehensive Doha Metro Network, based on the Qatar Transport Master Plan and multiple light rail people mover networks in Lusail, Education City and West Bay. Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company and Deutsche Bahn AG will develop a metro system in Qatar's capital, a national railroad network for passenger and freight traffic, and a long-distance connection to neighboring Bahrain. Qatar is world's biggest exporter of LNG with economic growth expected at 9 percent this year. It spends billions on infrastructure.
