JEDDAH, 2 October 2006 — The Saudi Railway Organization (SRO) has called upon specialized national and international companies to participate in the implementation of the 500-km Makkah-Madinah Rail Link (MMRL) project by offering their tenders.
“The project aims at providing a safe, fast, reliable and comfortable mode of transport for Umrah and Haj pilgrims traveling between the two holy cities and Jeddah,” said the SRO in a statement. Economists expect participation from major European, American and Japanese companies in the project, which will be implemented on a design, build, operate and transfer (DBOT) basis.
“A typical consortium bidding for the project will include a high-speed technology provider, rail operator, and a construction company as well as financial, legal and technical advisers,” the SRO said. The MMRL includes the construction of approximately 500 kilometers of new high-speed electrified railway lines between Jeddah and Makkah and between Jeddah and Madinah. It will be equipped with modern signaling and telecommunications systems.
SRO planned the project after observing the growing number of pilgrims who travel between Makkah and Madinah. The number is expected to grow further as a result of new regulations facilitating Umrah traffic. Nearly 2.5 million pilgrims visit the two holy cities during the Haj season. In addition, 7.5 million people, including two million in Ramadan alone, come for Umrah annually.
Emphasizing the profitability of the project, Transport Minister Jabara Al-Seraisry said MMRL would make SR500 million in revenues by 2010 and SR750 million by 2030.
With about 28 million inhabitants, the Saudi Arabian population is not dense relative to the size of the country (about 2 million square km), but its growth rate is relatively high at 3.27 percent. The population is consequently expected to reach 39 million in 2020 and 47 million in 2030. The population of the cities of Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah are collectively in excess of five million, with Jeddah home to about 2.8 million people. “At present there are more than 20 million travelers per year and this number is expected to grow to 30 million by 2020,” the SRO statement said.
Meanwhile, four consortia comprising Saudi and foreign companies have been qualified to present their offers to carry out the land bridge project, the main thrust of the Kingdom’s railway expansion project.
This project involves construction of 950 km of new tracks between Riyadh and Jeddah and another 115-km line between Dammam and Jubail. Seraisry emphasized the significance of the land bridge, saying it would strengthen the Kingdom’s position on the map of regional and international transport. The land bridge will reduce travel time between Riyadh and Jeddah by at least five hours depending on the type of trains used. Cargo trains would be able to cover the distance between Jeddah and Dammam in 24 hours.
