JEDDAH, 6 May 2003 — The Council of Ministers yesterday backed the north-south railway project, which could be significant in exploiting the large mineral deposits in the northern, central and southern parts of the country.
The Cabinet, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, instructed the Public Investment Fund to set up a working team to undertake technical studies on the north-south railway.
The working team will supervise the preparation of documents to invite tenders from international companies to implement the project. The documents must be ready before the end of June next year.
The working team comprises high-level representatives from the Ministry of Transport, the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maadin), and the Public Investment Fund.
Culture and Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy told the Saudi Press Agency that the Cabinet also welcomed the restoration of diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan.
“This positive step will contribute to creating a suitable atmosphere to settle outstanding issues between the two countries and provide solid ground to strengthen peace and stability in the region,” he quoted the Cabinet as saying.
The Cabinet meeting authorized the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to conduct an economic feasibility study on the phosphate project in Jalamid in cooperation with Maadin and Saudi Oger.
“The feasibility study will also cover a purification unit in Jalamid as well as a fertilizer plant in Jubail to convert condensed phosphate to ammonium phosphate and other products,” Al-Farsy said after the Cabinet meeting.
The Cabinet authorized the concerned authorities to implement the projects immediately once the studies find them economically feasible.
Phosphate deposits in the north and northwestern regions, Turaif, Sanam, and in the Jalamid regions are estimated to be several hundred million tons. Maadin has estimated phosphate deposits in the Jalamid region alone at 200 million tons.
The Cabinet decision comes after the discovery of additional number of world-class phosphate deposits across the northern part of the Kingdom.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources anticipates that the Kingdom could capture 16 percent of the world phosphate market.
The Agency for Mineral Resources has located 1,273 sites of precious metals and 1,171 sites of non-precious metals in the Kingdom. Over 30 minerals have already been identified in the country, with at least 15 industrial minerals that could be successfully exploited.
Maadin plans to transport 4.5 million tons of phosphate annually from Jalamid to Jubail for extraction once the rail project is executed. It also seeks to transport bauxite from Zubaira area to the aluminum factories in the Eastern Province.
North-south railway is part of a major railway expansion project. The main part of this project envisages adding a 945-km rail link between Riyadh and Jeddah. This will complete the rail link between the country’s east and west coasts through the existing 1,392-km rail link between Riyadh and Dammam in the Eastern Province.
Initial estimates put the cost of this project alone at more than $1.7 billion. It is expected to boost cargo by 19.5 percent to 30 million tons, and transport by 23 million passengers a year.
Another 610-km rail link is planned to start from Riyadh and go northwest to the Hudaitha border post with Jordan.
A third 115-km railway is planned to link Dammam with the industrial city of Jubail. And the fourth railway project is to link Jeddah with the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, a distance of 425 kilometers.
During the Cabinet meeting yesterday, King Fahd welcomed the ministers who were appointed by him last Wednesday during a Cabinet reshuffle and urged them to double their efforts for the progress and prosperity of the Kingdom and its people.
The meeting authorized the interior minister to hold talks with Ukraine to sign a security cooperation agreement. It also licensed an international salt company to exploit raw salt from Sabkhat Ras Qarya in the Eastern Province. The license covers 2,709 square kilometers.
