RIYADH, 30 November 2005 — Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf signed here yesterday a contract for over SR512 million ($136.8 million) with a consortium of multinational companies led by the Louis Berger Group of the US to do the complete design and construction of a 2,400 km freight and mineral transportation project linking Al-Jalamid and Al-Zabira in the north to Riyadh, with another line branching off to Ras Az-Zour in the Eastern Province.
The signing ceremony, held at the minister’s office, was attended by senior officials of the ministry, the Public Investment Fund, Dr. Abdullah Dabbagh, president of Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden) and delegates of the consortium.
A major feature of the mining project is that it will provide job opportunities for 16,000 people when completed over a period of 75 months. However, the potential is deemed to be much greater than the estimated figure based on two projects alone. The contract also calls for training young Saudis and facilitating technology transfer to the Kingdom
Besides the Louis Berger Group, other members of the consortium include Systra Engineering Consultancy Co. of France, Canarail of Canada and Saudi Consolidated Engineering Co. (Khatib & Alami) of Saudi Arabia. All the companies have a successful track record of accomplishing major engineering and railroad projects in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region.
Describing the project as extremely important in terms of mineral development and transportation, the minister said it would pave the way for building a network of railroads in the Kingdom.
Asked if the railroad project would also be used for passenger traffic, Dr. Abdullah Dabbagh said the network was primarily designed for freight transport. However, its potential for carrying passengers could be tapped in the long run. To this end, a company would be set up for operating the railroad project on a commercial basis.
Speaking on behalf of the Louis Berger Group, a spokesman told Arab News that the railroad network would run from Al-Hudaitha near the border with Jordan and continue all the way to Riyadh via Al-Jouf, Al-Zabira (Hail), Qassim and Sudair. A railroad spur will connect Hazm Al-Jalamid and Al-Zubairah (Hail) to Ras Az-Zour (southeastern part) along the railroad to Jubail for carrying phosphate and bauxite to the industrial township. He said two main components of the contract include training for Saudis and technology transfer.
Saudi Arabia is home to some of the largest phosphate deposits in the world.
The Kingdom’s phosphate reserves stand at 3.1 billion tons, with 1.6 billion tons of indicated phosphate resource and 1.5 billion tons of inferred resource.
