Six consortiums bid for Haramain rail stations
Published: Jul 11, 2010 22:19 Updated: Jul 11, 2010 22:19
JEDDAH: German transport group Deutsche Bahn, Italy’s Astaldi and British firm WS Atkins form parts of six consortiums bidding to build four stations along a 450-km railway in Saudi Arabia.
France’s Alstom, Austria’s Strabag, and Singapore-based ST Engineering Ltd’s are also bidding, the Saudi Railway Organization (SRO) said in an e-mailed statement on Sunday.
Each of the foreign companies has teamed up with a Saudi partner to compete for this phase of the link. “On Saturday, July 10, 2010, SRO received the technical and financial offers for the construction of the Haramain High Speed Rail (HHR) stations,” SRO said.
The high-speed Haramain Railway will link Islam’s holiest cities Makkah and Madinah to the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah, a key entry point for millions of pilgrims, and to King Abdullah Economic City, currently under construction in Rabigh.
Last year British firms Foster and Partners and Buro Happold were awarded a SR142 million ($37.9 million) contract to design the four stations while a SR6.5 billion contract was awarded to a group led by Al-Rajhi Group to conduct the civil works linked to the railway.
Earlier this month, the SRO received bids for a contract to cover the construction of the railway tracks, installation of signaling system and telecommunications, as well as the procurement of rolling stock and maintenance. It will also include a 12-year passenger service operation.
