RIYADH, 9 November 2006 — A Saudi company aims to begin negotiations with the authorities in Saudi Arabia and Jordan to reconstruct the abandoned Hijaz Railroad that would connect the holy city of Madinah with the Syrian capital Damascus.
Director General of the Bilad International Company for Investment Jamal Al-Safrani said the company would shortly undertake a feasibility study for the reconstruction of the 1,400-km long Hijaz Railway, according to Al-Watan newspaper yesterday. Al-Safrani made this statement following the signing of a 50-year-contract between Korean, Gulf and Syrian companies to build, operate and transfer the 200 km long Syrian sector of the railway. Signatories of the contract include the Bilad International Company and Syrian railway authorities.
The contract also covers the development of potential tourist and commercial sites in the region. A Syrian-based company signed the contract with the Syrian Railway Authority on behalf of the alliance.
Al-Safrani said that the estimated cost of the project on Syrian territory would be $3 billion according to a study made by South Korean Railways, a strategic partner in the project. He added that the Korean company would visit the Kingdom to obtain required details of the project’s Saudi sector. Feasibility studies would be completed within six months.
Al-Safrani gave assurances that the project could be completed in five years after starting work. He added that the Syrian sector would be the first leg of the reconstruction of the ancient railway line and that the remaining sectors of the railway line would be completed after Jordan and Saudi Arabia sign contracts early next year.
“All the related parties welcome the project in principle as it would link the Middle East with Europe through the Turkish railway,” Al-Safrani said.
He added that the latest electric locomotives with an average speed of 220 kilometer per hour would bring the distant regions in the Middle East and Europe closer. He added that the company has already made some preliminary talks with Jordan. The total cost of the 1,400-kilometer, line most of which would be passing through the Kingdom, has been estimated at $20 billion.
Al-Safrani said his company aims to forge an independent alliance different from the alliance operating in the Syrian sector if it got the contract for the Jordanian and Saudi sectors. The preparations are now under way to make the alliance a fully legitimate body in order to undertake the project, he added.
