JEDDAH, 8 March — The Supreme Economic Council, chaired by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, is studying two major railway expansion projects. The estimated cost of the expansion is put at more than SR6 billion. Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Ouhaly, deputy minister for transport affairs, said the two projects would be floated for private investment soon after their endorsement by the SEC. The SEC comprises a number of senior Cabinet ministers.
He said the first project, linking the Arabian Gulf and the Central Riyadh Region with Red Sea will cover a total length of 1,500 kilometers. “It will serve as a bridge to boost Saudi exports and promote trade between Arabian Gulf and Red Sea areas,” he told Okaz.
The second project will link the Zubaira and Jalameed belt regions with the capital Riyadh. “It will be called the mining line,” Ouhaly said, adding that the second railway line will be used to transport minerals from the region, thereby enhancing social and economic progress. The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maadin) plans to transport 4.5 million tons of phosphate annually from Jalameed to Jubail for extraction once the rail project is executed. It also seeks to transport bauxite from Al-Zubaira area to the aluminum factories in the Eastern Province.
Feasibility studies on the project have been completed and are now being reviewed by the SEC. The privatization committee has already given its approval, giving the go-ahead for the project by the private sector. Communications Minister Nasser Al-Salloum had said the SEC would approve the project within weeks. The new rail links are expected to boost cargo transport by 19.5 percent to 30 million tons a year. The project will also help transport 23 million passengers a year. The Kingdom has invited the private sector to construct the railways, but authorities are still evaluating options to award the projects, with the build-operate-transfer (BOT) being favored.
Several foreign and local firms are bidding for the projects to expand the Saudi railways. Japan last year turned down a Saudi request to finance a $2 billion rail link between the phosphate mines in the north and industrial centers in eastern Saudi Arabia.
The Kingdom is the only country in the Arabian Peninsula with a railway. At the moment, there is only one active route between the capital and Dammam.
The earlier railway link built by the Ottomans, linked northern border cities with Madinah to transport Muslim pilgrims.
