Kuwait’s government has asked the Public Authority of Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) to take necessary measures towards delivering the required plots of land for the GCC Railway project to the Communications Ministry, the agency responsible for the state’s rail projects.

The decision resulted from a cabinet meeting conducted on 29 December, according to a local media report.

The cabinet also reportedly asked the PAAAFR to “remove all obstacles in order to carry out this vital project as soon as possible”.

MEED earlier reported that the Kuwait mainline rail could be tendered ahead of the metro project in view of the 2018 deadline for the GCC Railway project to become operational. Phase 1 of Kuwait’s mainline rail is to link with the GCC Railway through Nuwaiseeb on the border with Saudi Arabia.

The Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP) announced in late November that they expect to begin prequalifying firms for the national rail and metro projects by March 2016. Kuwait’s Supreme Council for Planning and Development had also indicated that they expect construction work on the rail projects to start by 2017.