Al-Burhan Group’s Railway Division is proud to announce that it has signed a new contract with the Iraqi State Company for Implementation of Transportation Project to deliver a new set of pre-stressed concrete railway sleepers fitted with UK-manufactured track fastening systems. This agreement is the latest in a long line of contracts with Al-Burhan Group (ABG) to supply concrete sleepers to the Iraqi railway network as part of the country’s railway modernisation and expansion programme.

The 300,000 concrete sleepers, produced at ABG’s Abu Ghraib Concrete Sleeper Factory will be equipped with the Pandrol UK Fast-Clip fastening assembly. In addition to the modern Fast-Clip system; the contract includes provision for a further 50,000 sleepers fitted with the ‘old-style’ PR607 fastening to be used for existing track maintenance in Iraq. The ABG factory has been running at full capacity for over the year now with production levels quickly reaching over 2,000 concrete sleepers per day. A planned expansion will shortly raise capacity to over 4,000 sleepers each day to meet upcoming requirements.

In little over two years the Abu Ghraib factory has moved from initial installation and set-up to maximum capacity production. It is now one of the biggest factories of its kind in the Middle East and wider region. Investment activity is consistently expanding across all sectors in Iraq making the development of a high capacity freight and passenger rail system a priority for the government. ABG plans to continue investing in the facility to ensure an uninterrupted supply of quality rail products for years to come.

In addition to expanding concrete production and casting capacity at the factory, ABG is planning to install a steel strand wire production facility within the factory. The ability of ABG to produce its own strand wire for the concrete sleepers will insulate it from fluctuating commodity prices; as well as guarantee a consistent supply of strand wire which is in constant demand across the Middle East for wide range of industries. Steel strand wire production will add to wide-ranging capability of ABG’s engineers and technicians who have so effectively managed to get the factory up and running to date. The development of this steel production facility further underscores ABG’s commitment to developing business and industry in Iraq.