JEDDAH, 26 January 2008 — The winner of the contract for the much-awaited land-bridge project to link the Kingdom’s east with its west will be announced in April, Transport Minister Dr. Jabara Al-Seraisry said yesterday. The total cost of the project is estimated at $5 billion.
“Four consortia have been qualified to carry out the project. They will present their offers in the second half of next month and the winner of the contract will be announced in April,” he said.
Seraisry’s statement came less than a week after the formation of a railway authority by the Council of Ministers. The authority will issue licenses to railway service providers, monitor unfair competition, and investigate railway accidents and losses.
“The decision to establish the railway authority reflects the leadership’s keenness to develop and expand one of the major economic development sectors,” Seraisry said in reference to the massive railway expansion projects.
The land-bridge project involves construction of 950 km of new railway tracks between Riyadh and Jeddah and another 115-km line between Dammam and Jubail. It is the cornerstone of a massive multibillion-riyal railway expansion project and will be the first rail link between the Red Sea and the Gulf.
The four consortia vying for the project are Agility PWC Logistics Consortium, Mada Consortium, Saudi Binladin Consortium and Al-Muhaidib/ACWA (Tarabot) Consortium.
“The Supreme Economic Council (SEC), chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, has approved the technical report regarding the qualification of the four consortia, which had shown their interest in the land-bridge project,” the Saudi Railway Organization (SRO) said.
Seraisry emphasized the significance of the land-bridge project, saying it would strengthen the Kingdom’s position on the regional and international transport map. It will also bring about total change in the region’s shipping pattern.
The SEC approved implementation of the land-bridge project with private sector participation about four years ago. The project promises to transform the existing railway in the Kingdom into a world-class freight and passenger network. It will have the capability to move large quantities of cargo over long distances at competitive rates and will offer safe and comfortable overland passenger transport.
The project will boost the development of three main regions — Riyadh, Makkah and Eastern Province — that account for 70 percent of the Kingdom’s population and economic activities. The project, which is being tendered on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, is one of the largest of its kind in the Middle East. The project will realize one of the dreams of King Abdul Aziz, the Kingdom’s founder, who wanted to establish a rail link from the Gulf to the Red Sea. The king lived to see the completion of the first railway line from Riyadh to Dammam in 1951, and now his successors are keen to make that dream come true.
