JEDDAH: The first phase of Makkah-Jeddah-Madinah railway project will be implemented shortly as the Saudi Railway Organization (SRO) has asked the four qualified consortia to present their technical and financial offers for the project in three months.
The SRO has already presented documents related to the project’s technical conditions to the four consortia — Al-Rajhi Consortium, Binladin-OHL International Consortium, Saudi Oger Consortium and Saudi Japanese Consortium.
“A technical team at the organization will review the bids to select the winner of the contract within two months after receiving the offers,” the SRO said in an official statement.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah ordered the implementation of the project last February and instructed officials to use Saudi local funds for the purpose. The project, estimated to cost SR20 billion ($5.33 billion), will bring about revolutionary changes in the transportation of pilgrims between the two holy cities.
The Makkah-Madinah Railway Link (MMRL), which is designed to operate trains with a speed of over 300 km per hour, would reduce travel time between Jeddah and Makkah to 30 minutes and between Jeddah and Madinah to two hours.
The MMRL includes the construction of 450 km of high-speed electrified railway lines between Jeddah and Makkah and between Jeddah and Madinah. The railway will be equipped with advanced signaling and telecommunications systems.
Transport Minister Jabara Al-Seraisry commended SRO’s technical and legal experts for their efforts in preparing the documents for the tender. “It was an important step toward implementing the project,” he said.
Al-Seraisry said the documents covered all agreements and conditions to be followed by parties involved in the project. He said the first part of the initial phase involves civil works for the railway linking Makkah and Madinah. The railway will pass by King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, the minister said.
The second part of the first phase includes building of stations while the project’s second phase comprises establishment of railway tracks, signaling and communication systems, import of carriages, operation and maintenance.
“We have already finalized the route for the rail project and identified the locations for stations in Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah,” Al-Seraisry said. He said the project would improve the quality of public transport in the Kingdom.
Abdul Aziz Al-Hoqail, president of the SRO, said the MMRL project would ensure secure and speedy transportation for pilgrims as well as local passengers between the two holy cities. “It will be a good addition to the development projects being carried out by the government in the holy cities,” he added.
An informed source at the Transport Ministry told Arab News that special committees are currently surveying the land along the route to implement the project. The committees will also estimate the amount of compensation to be paid to land owners.
The MMRL will have stations at Jeddah Islamic Port, King Abdulaziz International Airport and King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh, the source said, adding that it would pass by the eastern edge of Jeddah. The project will be implemented on a design, build, operate and transfer basis.
Highlighting the profitability of the project, Al-Seraisry said the MMRL would make SR500 million by 2010. The MMRL is part of a major railway expansion program that involves the construction of 950 km of new tracks between Riyadh and Jeddah and a 115 km line linking Dammam and Jubail.
