The Public Authority for Roads and Land Transport plans to appoint a consultant in the third quarter of this year to phrase all tendering documents needed for the railway project, local daily Kuwait Times reported.

According to report, the first phase of the railway project will run from the Saudi borders to downtown Kuwait City, and that the project will be executed according to public-private-partnership (PPP) conditions. The project’s civil works will be given to the selected consortium including developers, contractors and financiers. The first phase’s estimated cost is around KD 900 million and is expected to be launched by 2023.

The second 43-km long phase will run further to the north, reaching the Iraqi borders.