Hyperloop One has completed the studies commissioned last year by Dubai-based DP World and the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), according to Rob Lloyd, the company’s CEO.

Speaking to MEED, Lloyd said it is now up to DP World and the RTA to decide the next steps.

He declined to discuss the outcome of both studies stating that the clients have retained the right to discuss the report outcomes.

DP World commissioned the study last summer. The scope includes assessing the value of using Hyperloop systems for moving containers from ships docked at the Jebel Ali port to a new inland container depot.

On top of the study, DP World also invested $50m in Hyperloop One in October last year. The investment, in a convertible note, went into the series C funding round, which concludes this year.

The other study conducted for the RTA, commissioned in November last year, aims to assess the feasibility of a Hyperloop infrastructure from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.

The executive said they are now focusing on developing a comprehensive framework leading to a regulatory rulebook that comprises the required safety certificates for specific elements of the Hyperloop transport infrastructure.

“There are certain components that might already be certified… this framework will focus on those elements where safety certificates are not yet available anywhere in the world,” Lloyd said, who added that they expect to go into production in 2021. “By production, we mean a complete and operational Hyperloop infrastructure physically moving people and goods.”

Hyperloop infrastructure includes a station or loading platform, a capsule or pod that would carry passengers or cargo, and a tube through which the capsule will travel, which utilises electro-magnetic propulsion and passive magnetic levitation systems. It offers theoretical speeds of up to 1,220 kilometres an hour.

A competing company utilising the same hyper-fast transport concept, Hyperloop Transport Technologies (TT), has signed a contract with the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport (DMAT) in December for a Hyperloop transport between Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain.

The feasibility study entails route analysis, cost estimates, land rights and a development schedule and is expected to be completed in May 2017.

Unlike Hyperloop One, which relies on venture capital, Hyperloop TT utilises crowd-sourcing as a financing model.