RIYADH, 23 July — The Kingdom will soon unveil a multi-billion-riyal railway project linking the east and west coasts through the capital Riyadh, Communications Minister Nasser Al-Salloum said in comments published yesterday.
“The project will be announced soon, hopefully before the end of this year and executive studies will commence immediately after that,” Salloum told reporters after inaugurating a modern bus terminal, built at a cost of SR59 million, in Riyadh on Saturday.
The rail link between Jeddah on the Red Sea and Dammam on the Gulf coast through the capital Riyadh is one of four railway projects being considered by the Kingdom. The projects are expected to cost several billion riyals.
Other planned railways include links between Riyadh and the mines in the north, and another between the holy cities of Madinah and Makkah with Yanbu and Jeddah on the Red Sea.
The Jeddah-Dammam link is expected to boost cargo transport by 19.5 percent to 30 million tons and transport 23 million passengers a year.
Saudi Arabia has invited the private sector to construct the railways, and several foreign and local firms are bidding for the projects.
Japan last year turned down an offer to finance a $2-billion rail link between phosphate mines in the north and industrial centers in eastern Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the Arabian Peninsula with a railway. It was originally built under the Ottomans to transport pilgrims to Makkah. (AN)
